
1 



Class 
Book. 



m7 



*2 S M 



1 




THE PROMISED LAND. 
See Note i. 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES 



AND 



HOW TO USE THEM 



/ 



. By ALFRED H. GUERNSEY, Ph.D. 



A VIEW OF THE INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS OF OUR COUNTRY, A CON- 
ERATION OF ITS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT, A STUDY OF THE SPHERES 
WOMAN'S WORK, AND ESTIMATES OF THE REWARDS WHICH ART 
i'D SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY, HAVE IN STORE FOR HUMAN 
DEAVOR, WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE CONDITIONS OF PRESENT AND 
PROSPECTIVE PROSPERITY 



WITH COMPREHENSIVE TABLES OF STATISTICS 

Bkl)l2 SUastratefc 



NEW YORK 
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 

1887 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1884, by 
HARPER & BROTHERS, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



All rights reserved. 



LIST OF TABLES. 



No. Page 

I. AREA AND POPULATION, 15 

II. MIGRATIONS OF NATIVE POPULATION, 18 

III. INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS, 28 

IV. ASSESSED VALUATION, 1880, 1870, 31 

V. FARMS: ACREAGE AND VALUES, 36 

VI. ACREAGE AND PRODUCT OF GRAIN CROPS, 1880, . 40, 41 

VII. VALUE OF ORCHARD PRODUCTS, 1850, i860, 1870, 1880, . 74 

VIII. WINE PRODUCT OF EUROPE, 100 

IX. LIVE-STOCK no, in 

X. DAIRY PRODUCTS, 132 

XL AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER EXPORTS,. ...... 177 

XII. WAGES OF AGRICULTURAL LABORERS, 189 

XIII. GOLD AND SILVER— PRODUCT AND VALUE, ..... 193 

XIV. THE NON- PRECIOUS METALS {Regular Establishments), . 200 

XV. COAL AND MINOR MINERALS, 209 

XVI. PETROLEUM AND ITS PRODUCTS, ......... 217 

XVII. STONE -QUARRIES IN THE UNITED STATES, .... 219 

XVIII. QUARRY PRODUCTS, BY STATES, 220 

XIX. QUANTITY AND VALUES OF MINING PRODUCTS, . . 221 

XX. FISHERIES AND PRODUCTS, BY STATES: 1879, .... 226 

XXI. FISHERIES AND PRODUCTS BY DIVISIONS: 1879, . , . 227 

XXII. LUMBERING AND ITS PRODUCTS, 257 

XXIII. COMMON -SCHOOL STATISTICS: 1880, 283 

XXIV. STEAM AND WATER POWER IN MANUFACTURES, . . 302 



iv LIST OF TABLES. 

No. Page 

XXV. STEAM AND WATER POWER, AND OPERATIVES,. . . 304 

XXVI. WORKERS AND THEIR WAGES: 1880, 310 

XXVII. WAGES IN CITIES FOR TRADES, 

XXVIII. MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, CAPITAL, AND 

PROFIT, 313-318 

XXIX. DISTRIBUTION OF TRADES IN THE UNITED STATES, 336 
XXX. MEAN TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL, 568 

APPENDIX— TABLES OF GENERAL INTEREST, 585 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK. 

Success in Life. — Where Opportunities Lie.— Inquiries Based upon Facts. — Sum- 
mary of the Principal Subjects : Population ; Farming ; Fruit-culture and Gar- 
dening ; Live-stock and Dairy Products ; Forestry ; Manufacturing and Mechan- 
ical Industries; Trade and Commerce; Mines; Fisheries; Professional Occu- 
pations ; Applied Sciences and Inventions ; Health and Mortality ; Work for 
Women; Amusements i 



CHAPTER II. 

WHO ARE SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES. 

Area and Population of the United States. — Ratio of Increase of Population.— Na- 
tivity. — Density of Population. — Ages and Probabilities of Life . . . . .14 



CHAPTER III. 

WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE SOUGHT. 

Migration of Population. — Movement from State to State. — Motives for Migration, 
— The Great Currents of Migration. — Probable Migration from the North to 
the South. — Emigration from Europe to America. — No Return Current. — Dis- 
tribution of Foreign Emigrants. — Residents in City and Country. — Compara- 
tive Growth of City and Country Population. — Distribution into Families. — 
Dwellings and Families 17 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE OCCUPATIONS WE FOLLOW. 

The Necessity for Labor. — Importance of Labor Statistics. — Value of the Census 
Reports. — Producers and Non-producers. — Who are the Non-producers. — 
Net Results of all Industries. — Increase of National Wealth. — Increase Pro 
Rata 26 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

FARMS AND FARM AREAS. 

Ratio of Agriculturists to Population.— Their Probable Increase. — No European 
Competitors in Agricultural Products. — What Constitutes a Farm. — Table of 
Farm Acreage and Values. — Number and Size of Farms Page 32 

CHAPTER VI. 

FARM PRODUCTS. 

Indian Corn : Its Acreage, Product, and Value. — Increase of Production. — Area of 
its Growth. — Qualities of the Grain. — Its Future. — Wheat: Qualities of the 
Grain. — Area of its Growth. — Where it has Advanced or Declined. — Causes of 
Changes. — Yield and Value per Acre. — Advantages of Better Tillage. — Oats: 
Area of Production. — Acreage and Value of the Crop. — Its Future. — Barley : 
Area of Production. — Value of the Crop, and its Future. — Rye: Area of Pro- 
duction. — Value of the Crop, and its Future. — Buckwheat : Acreage, Amount, 
and Value of Crop. — Its Future. — Rice: Area, Value, and Future of the Crop. — 
The Potato : Area of Production. — Acreage and Value in 1880. — Yearly Fluctu- 
ations in the Yield. — Its Advantages, Disadvantages, and Future. — The Sweet 
Potato : Area of Production. — Fluctuations in its Cultivation. — Probable Future. 
— Other Root Crops. — Sugar : Whence Produced. — Cane-sugar. — Main Sources 
of Supply. — Area and Amount of Production in the United States. — Maple- 
sugar. — Sorghum-sugar. — The Sorghum Plant in the United States. — Its Value 
for Forage. — Early Attempts at making Sugar from it. — Recent Improvements. 
— Large Increase to be Expected. — Beet-sugar. — Largely Produced in Europe. 
— Unsuccessful in the United States. — Corn-sugar, or Glucose. — How Pro- 
duced. — Its Character and Uses. — Hay : Comparative Worth of the Crop. — 
Value and Estimated Acreage, — Amount Consumed per Head of Cattle. — Im- 
portance of Fodder. — Selection of Grasses. — Introduction of New Varieties. — 
Green Fodder. — Ensilage. — Cotton: Importance of the Plant. — Area of its 
Growth in the United, States. — Amount and Value of the Crop from i860 to 
1882. — Value per Acre. — Price Dependent upon the Foreign Market. — Uses and 
Value of the Seed. — Future of the Crop.— Flax : Area and Production. — De- 
crease from 1850 to i860. — Increase from i860 to 1870. — Subsequent Decrease. 
— Value of the Seed. — Future of the Flax Culture. — Hemp : Area of its Cultiva- 
tion—Great Decline since i860. — Ramie: Produces a Fine Fibre. — Introduced 
into the United States in 1857. — Why its Cultivation was not Profitable then. — 
Probability of Success. — Tobacco: Acreage and Product. — Slight Increase since 
i860. — Uncertainty of the Crop, and other Disadvantages. — Hops: Where 
Grown. — Fluctuations in the Area. — Pease and Beans. — The Pea-nut. — Its Value 
for Oil. — Beets, Turnips, etc 38 

CHAPTER VII. 

PRODUCTS OF THE GARDEN. 

Deficiency in Statistics.— Horticulture : Market-gardening.— The Great Opportuni- 
ties which it Offers, — Requisites for Success.— New Species of Vegetables to be 
Sought.— Improvements by Cultivation and Hybridization.— The Blackberry. 
—The Cranberry. — The Currant.— The Gooseberry.— The Raspberry.— The 
Strawberry. — The Whortleberry. — Floriculture : Cultivation of Flowers for 



CONTENTS. 



vii 



Sale. — Rapid Increase of the Industry. — Affords Opportunities for Women 
to make Money. — Cultivation of Flowers for Perfumery. — Not likely to In- 
crease Page 66 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 

Productiveness of some Tropical Fruits. — The Banana, Date, Cocoa-nut, and Bread- 
fruit. — Few American Fruits Indigenous. — Fruit-culture heretofore Neglected. 
— Value of Orchard Products, from 1850 to 1880. — Where Changes have Oc- 
curred. — Consumption of Fruit per Head of the People. — Naturalizing Fruits. — 
The Apple : Its Introduction. — Early Favorable Conditions for its Growth. — 
The Most Valuable Northern Fruit. — Decay of Orchards. — The Causes of this. 
— Errors in Treating Orchards. — Starving the Trees. — Insect Enemies. — How 
to Destroy them. — The Best Soil for the Apple. — Manures and Fertilizers. — 
Peach-trees not to be Over-manured. — Grafting. — Special Value of the Apple. 
— Durability of the Fruit. — Varieties Ripen in Succession. — Varieties Recom- 
mended. — The Pear : A Product of Cultivation. — Standards, Budded, Grafted, 
and Dwarf Trees. — Area of Growth. — The Peach: Area of Growth. — Qualities 
of the Fruit. — Adapted for Canning. — The Cherry : Varieties and Value of the 
Fruit. — Plums: Not a Leading Orchard Product. — Dried Plums or Prunes. — 
The Gathering of Apples and Other Fruit. — Hand -gathering. — The Fruit- 
plucker. — Bruising and Freezing Fatal to Fruits. — Handling Fruit. — Storing 
Fruit. — Canning Fruits a Growing Industry. — Fruit and Health. — Fruit-eating 
a Substitute for Drinking. — Southern Fruits. — The Orange : Area of Growth. 
— Nordhoff on Orange-culture in California. — Seedlings and Budded Trees. — 
Importation of Oranges. — Great Increase of Growth in California and Florida. 
— Statistics of Growth, Cost, and Profits of Orange - culture in California. — 
Prices of Land in California. — Necessity of Irrigation. — Advice to Emigrants. — 
The Apricot : Successfully Introduced into California. — Plums: Largely Grown 
for Canning. — The Olive: Succeeds Fairly in California. — Probabilities of its 
Future. — The Almond : Experiments in its Cultivation. — Probabilities of Prof- 
it. — The English Walnut: Reasons for its Cultivation. — The Italian Chest- 
nut 73 

CHAPTER IX. 

PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. 

Area of Growth of the Vine in the United States. — The Soils Best Adapted to it. 
— Modes of Cultivation. — Future of American Vine-growing. — Diseases of the 
European Vines. — Oidium and Phylloxera. — Exemption of American Vines. — 
Value of the Wine-product of Europe. — Vine-growing in California. — Nord- 
hoff s Anticipations, — Wine-making in California. — Raisins: Mode of Drying 
in Europe. — Raisin-making Recently Introduced into California. — Profits of a 
Raisin Vineyard. — Where they may be Located. — Processes of Drying and 
Packing the Raisins. — California as a Fruit-growing Region 97 

CHAPTER X. 

LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 

Importance of Live-stock. — Live-stock upon Farms. — Estimate of Animals not 
upon Farms. — Table of Live-stock. — Increase should be Estimated Relatively 



viii 



CONTENTS. 



to the Increase of Population. — Stock-raising a Growing Industry. — Increase 
in Numbers and Value of Stock. — Reasons why Stock-raising will Increase. — 
The United States Must to a Great Extent Supply Europe. — All Parts of an 
Animal may be Turned to Use. — Neat-cattle : The Number of Working Oxen 
Diminishing. — Milch Cows, their Number and Value in Various Sections. — 
Improvements of Breeds. — Value of Animals Slaughtered. — Sheep: Their 
Number, and Ratio of Increase. — Value of the Wool. — Sheep Slaughtered. — 
Value of Sheep per Head. — Sheep-raising in Great Britain. — Profitable Results 
of Sheep-breeding. — Where Wool-growing Pays. — Swine: Their Number and 
Increase. — Where they are Most Numerous. — Slaughter-houses, Swine, and 
Corn. — Horses : Their Number and Increase. — Loss Occasioned by the Civil 
War. — Profits in Horse-breeding. — Mules and Asses: Their Number and 
Value. — Profits in Breeding. — Poultry : Its Estimated Value. — Where Poultry- 
keeping may be Profitable. — Mr. Bement's Experience. — Management of Fowls. 
— Their Feeding. — Poultry-raising by Women. — Bee-keeping: Less Practised 
than Formerly,, — Where it may be Profitable Page 106 



CHAPTER XL 

PRODUCTS OF THE DAIRY. 

Milk: Quantity Produced and Consumed. — Its Value. — Milk Yielded by son* 
Improved Breeds. — Varying Proportion of Milk to Butter Produced. — Pedi- 
gree and Breeding. — Experience of Messrs. Pratt, Boutwell, and others. — 
English Dairy - farming. — Housing and Feeding Cows. — Corn -stover, and 
other Green Fodder. — Swill-slops as Food for Cows. — Milk should be More 
Largely Used as Food. — Preserved and Condensed Milk. — Cheese: Changes in 
Mode of Manufacture. — Quantities Produced. — Factory Cheese. — Butter : In- 
crease in Production. — Creameries or Butter -factories. — Where Butter is 
Chiefly Made. — Value of the Butter Product. — No Necessity for Bad Butter. — 
Opportunities in the Dairy Business . 131 



CHAPTER XII. 

REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 

Proportion of Agriculturists to other Producers. — Wealth of the Farming Class. — 
The Mechanic Works upon Dead Substances, the Agriculturist upon Living 
Ones. — Agricultural Chemistry. — Water and other Elements of Plants. — How 
Manures and Fertilizers Act. — Rotation of Crops. — Special Requisites for the 
Market-gardener or Fruit-grower. — They Need Good Business Skill. — Requi- 
sites for the Successful Stock-raiser. — Must Understand Agricultural Chem- 
istry and Animal Physiology. — Value of Statistics. — Illustrations. — Opportuni- 
ties in Stock-breeding, — High Prices for Blooded Stock. — Advantages of some 
Mechanical Dexterity. — Farming Requires Capital. — Suggestions for Acquiring 
it. — How to Learn Farming. — The Emigrant Farmer. — The Farmer Bound to 
the Soil. — Things to be Considered. — Salubrity of Climate. — Social and Edu- 
cational Considerations. — Whence and Whither to Emigrate. — Accessibility to 
a Market of Great Importance. — Working of the Colony System of Emigra- 
tion. — Suggestions for Co-operative Emigration. — Best Size for Farms. — Ad- 
vice from a Successful Emigrant. — A Profitable Wheat Crop. — General Ad- 
vantages of the Colony System. — Agricultural Laborers becoming Owners of 
Farms. — Mental Culture of the Farmer 144 



CONTENTS. 



ix 



CHAPTER XIII. 

AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881 AND 1882. 

The Harvests of 188 1 Unfavorable —The Winter of 1881-82— Drought of the Next 
Summer. — Comparison between the Crops of 1880 and 1881. — Corn: Increase of 
Acreage and Decrease of Yield. — Increase of Prices, and Nominal Increase of 
Value. — Relation of Exports to Prices. — Effect of Diminution upon the Price 
of Meat-products.— The Corn-crop of 1882 between that of the two Preceding 
Years. — Wheat : Comparison between the Crops of 1880 and 1881. — The Ex- 
ports of Wheat Affect its Price here.— The Wheat-crop of 1882. — Oats : The Crop 
of 1881 a Good One. — Statistics of the Crop. — Barley : Amount and Value of the 
Crop. — Probability of Increase. — Rye and Buckwheat : Comparative Statistics. — 
Potatoes: Marked Fluctuations in the Product and Price. — Their Cultivation 
recently Extended to the Southern States. — Hay : Statistics of the Crop. — Ranks 
in Value above Cotton. — Probable Increase of Cultivation. — Winter-feeding of 
Cattle. — A Farmer's Opportunity. — Cotton: Variation in Yield for 1880, 1881, 
and 1882. — Prices Low. — Nominal Prices and Real Prosperity. — Lessons from 
Good and Bad Years. — Live-stock : Grains and Meats. — Advance in the Price of 
Cattle. — Causes of the Rise. — Decrease in Swine. — Large Increase in Sheep. — 
Large Increase in the Value of Live-stock. — Growth of Exports. — Improvement 
in Breeds. — Future of Live-stock. — Proportion of Agricultural and Other Ex- 
ports Page 162 



CHAPTER XIV. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEAT-GROWING. 

Our Small Average Crop per Acre. — Sowing Broadcast or in Drills. — Reasons in Fa- 
vor of Drilling. — Where Broadcast Sowing is Necessary. — Hybridizing Cultiva- 
tion of Seed-wheat. — Experiments by Prof. Blount in Colorado. — Summary of 
the Results attained by him. — Cautions to Experimenters. — Wheat-breeding as 
a Profession 178 



CHAPTER XV. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARM-LABORERS. 

Farm-laborers and Farm-owners. — Wages paid to Agricultural Laborers. — Fluctua- 
ations from Time to Time. — Great Reduction in 1879. — Rise in 1882. — Influence 
of Manufacturing upon the Wages of Agricultural Laborers.— Negro Labor in 
the South. — Average by Sections.— Occasional Laborers during Harvest. — Op- 
portunities for the Laborer to become a Farmer. — How Savings may be Invest- 
ed. — The Annual Saving of $120, invested at 4 per cent., will produce $1100 in 
Eight Years 185 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE PRECIOUS AND NON-PRECIOUS METALS. 

Quantity and Value of the Gold and Silver.— Condition and Prospects of the Min- 
ing Industry. — Gold : Its Original Condition, — The Great Australian Nugget. — 
Placer^ or Surface, Mining. — Deep, or Vein, Mining. — Gold-bearing Rocks. — 
The Gold-veins. — Chutes.— Separating the Gold from the Rock.— Schools of 
Mines. — Opportunities for Success. — Silver : Its Wide Diffusion. — Where found 



CONTENTS. 



in the United States. — Relative Values of Gold and Silver.— Iron; Rarely 
found Separate in Nature. — Value of Iron Ores.— Iron-miners, their Wages, etc. 
— Fluctuations in Iron-making. — Its Present Condition. — Opportunities for 
Skilled Labor. — Copper: Where Produced in the United States. — Metallic 
Copper and Copper-miners. — Quantity and Value. — Wages of Miners. — Copper- 
mining a Profitable Industry. — Lead: Quantity and Value. — Where Produced. 
— Zinc: Quantity and Value. — Statistics of Production. — A Growing Industry. — 
The Minor Minerals. — Value of all Metallic Products Page 192 

CHAPTER XVII. 

COAL, ANTHRACITE AND BITUMINOUS. 

Distinction between Anthracite and Bituminous Coal. — Quantity and Value of the 
Anthracite. — Where it is Mined. — Bituminous Coal, Quantity and Value. — 
Total Value of Coal and the Minor Minerals. — Statistics of Production. — Wages 
Paid and Capital Invested. — Present Condition of the Industry 206 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

PETROLEUM AND ITS PRODUCTS. 

Known from Remote Times. — Boring for Oil begun in 1858. — The Quantity and 
Value Produced from 1859 to 1879. — Great Over-production in 1880. — Number 
and Cost of Wells. — Wages of Miners. — Refining Petroleum. — Value and Cost 
of Refined Petroleum and its Products. — Uses for Petroleum Increasing. — Pros- 



pects of the Industry 212 

CHAPTER XIX. 

STONE-QUARRYING AND SALT-MAKING. 

Quantity and Value of Building-stone Quarried. — Salt, the Quantity and Value Pro- 
duced. — General Summary of all Mining Values 219 

CHAPTER XX. 

FISHERIES AND FISH-CULTURE. 



Inadequacy of Former Statistics. — The Report for 1880. — Capital and Hands Em- 
ployed. — Value of Products.— Rate of Remuneration. — The Grouping of the 
Fisheries.— The Whale Fishery : nearly Extinct. — The Seal Fisher}-. — Danger of 
its Extinction.— The Salmon Fishery. — How carried on in Oregon and Califor- 
nia. — Canning Establishments.— The Cod Fishery. — The Mackerel Fishery.— 
The Herring Fishery. — Herrings put up as Sardines. — Prospects of Deep-sea 
Fishing. — The Oyster Fishery. — Fish Cultivation. — Rapid Advance in this. — 
Artificial Breeding of Oysters. — -The U. S. Fishery Commission. — What it has 
already Accomplished. — Further Work to be Done. — Certain Increase of Fish 
Culture.— Opportunities which it Presents 222 

CHAPTER XXL 

FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 

The Wanton Destruction of Forests.— Its Effect upon the Water Supply.— Direct 
Influence of Trees upon the Rainfall, — They Equalize the Distribution, and 



CONTENTS. 



Prevent both Floods and Droughts.— Forests Prevent the Washing Away of 
the Soil.— Fertile Regions which have been Ruined by Deforesting : Palestine, 
Northern Africa, India, Greece, Parts of Spain, France, and Italy. — The Spice 
Islands.— Island of Penang— A New England Instance.— Influence of Forests 
upon Climate. — Hurricanes. — Necessary Proportion of Forest Land.— Estimate 
in 1870 for Europe and America. — Careful Estimate for the United States in 
1875. — Where the Deficiency chiefly Exists. — What Should be Done.— Forest- 
ry as a Profession. — Report of the British Royal Association.— Forest Laws. — 
Organized Tree-planting. — Duty of the Government. — Schools of Forestry. — 
Care of the Forests of Prussia. — The Bavarian Forest-school. — Necessity of 
Forests for Lumber Page 238 



CHAPTER XXII. 

LUMBER AND OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS. 

Rapid Extension of Lumbering since 1880. — Quantity and Value of Products.— 
Wages of Lumbermen.— Other Forest Products. — Wood-pulp. — Money Value 
of Growing Forest -trees. — Forest Reports from Various States.-— The New 
England States. — The Middle States. — The South Atlantic and Gulf States.— 
The Central Western States. — Missouri. — The Half-wooded States.— The almost 
Treeless States.— California. — Requirements for Forest Cultivation.— Its Profits 
Certain, if Slow -253 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF AMERICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY. 

Sources of Future Supply of Lumber to be Found at Home. — Who must Conduct 
our Forest Culture. — Our Present National Forest Lands.— Present Condition 
in the Valley of the Mississippi and East of the Rocky Mountains. — On the 
Lower Mississippi. — Exhaustion of the White Pine. — The Yellow Pine of the 
South not Inexhaustible. — Timber in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and 
Colorado. — In Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. — The Treeless Plains 
on the Upper Missouri. — Arizona and New Mexico. — Forest Distribution in 
California. — The Redwood Forests.— Their Rapid Destruction. — Foreign Lum- 
bering Companies.— The National Redwood Forests, and how to Preserve. them. 
—Reservation of Forest Land from Sale or Grant.— Governmental Encourage- 
ment to Tree-planting. — Land-grants to Railroads, etc. — Importance of For- 
estry. — Opportunities which it Presents 267 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE PROFESSIONS. 

Number Engaged in the Professions.— Former Status of the Professions in Gen- 
eral. — The Clerical Profession, — Facilities for Entering it. — Its Advantages and 
Disadvantages. — Duties of Laymen. — Teaching. — Number of Teachers.— Their 
Wages. — Our Common-school System Defective.-— Offers too few Inducements 
to Teachers.— Other Disadvantages.— Importance of the Profession. — Poor 
Economy of Underpayment. — Requisitions for the Teacher.— The Medical 
Profession.— Its Requirements.— The Duties which it Involves.— Its Opportu» 
nities. — The Legal Profession. — The Strong Inducements which it Presents. — 
It is Overcrowded. — Advantages and Disadvantages. — The Literary Profession. 
—Newspapers and Periodicals. — Their Number and Distribution. — Journalists 



xii 



CONTENTS. 



and Journalism— Editors, Contributors, and Authors— Hints for Beginners.— 
What Kinds of Writing Pay.— Preparation of Manuscript.— Rates of Payment. 
—Male and Female Authors Page 278 



CHAPTER XXV. 

MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 

Manufactures and Operatives.— Mechanics and Workmen.— The Number thus Em- 
ployed.— Steam-power and Water-power Employed in Manufactures— Advan- 
tages of Water-power. — Where it is Available. — Bearing upon Manufactures in 
the Future. — Advantages of Steam-power. — Ratio of Power to Operatives. — 
Concentration of Manufactures in Large Establishments —Large Increase in the 
Number of Female Operatives and of Children. — Average Wages of Operatives. 
— Comparative Prosperity of Operatives in 1870 and 1880. — Increase in Manu- 
facturing Values— Raw Material, Wages, Capital, and Profits. — Wages and 
Skill. — Circumstances which Affect Numbers of Workmen in Different Occu- 
pations. — Workers and their Wages. — Influence of the Labor of Women and 
Children upon Rates of Wages. — Skilled and Unskilled Labor. — Other Factors 
in the Labor Problem. — Wages in Cities for Trades. — Laborers Employed, Cap- 
ital Invested, and Percentage of Profits in 330 Manufactures 299 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

REQUISITES OF SUCCESS FOR THE ARTISAN. 

Comparatively little Capital Required. — Apprenticeship System. — Our Present Ap- 
prenticeships usually too Short. — Guilds and Trade Unions. — The Education 
of the Hand. — Characteristics of the Human Hand. — Man's Supremacy Arises 
from his Hand and his Brain. — Either Ineffective without the Other." — Man 
and Tools. — The Hand Supplies the Place of other Organs of Animals. — Gen- 
eral Education of the Senses. — The Special Education of the Hand. — It seems 
to Act Automatically.; — Type-setting and Distributing. — Other Illustrations. — 
The Hands two Independent Organs, to be Trained Separately. — Heredity of 
Manual Dexterity. — Skill the Prime Requisite for Mechanical Success. — Foreign 
Workmen more Skilful than Americans. — The Reasons for this. — A Tendency 
towards Improvement 319 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 

The Occupation must be Judiciously Chosen. — Some Trades go out of Use. — Im- 
proved Supersede Old Ones, — Machinery takes the Place of Hand-work. — The 
Effects of this. — Example of Improvements in Printing. — The Workman must 
be Able to do More than One Thing. — Uncertainty of Some Occupations. — Clerk- 
ships under Government. — Choice of a Place of Residence. — The Local Distri- 
bution of Trades in the United States. — Change to be Expected, especially in 
the Southern States. — The Bearing upon the Future of the Trades. — Concen- 
tration into Large Establishments. — The Artisan as Man of Business and Master- 
workman.— Comparative Decrease in the Number of Employers. — Two Aspects 
of this Change. — General Requisites for Success : Skill and Energy, Foresight 
and Invention. — Cautions and Encouragements. — Honesty in Manufactures. — 
Value of an Established Brand or Trade -mark. — Illustrative Examples. — A 
Character Gained must be Maintained. — Examples in Various Manufactures and 



CONTENTS. 



xiii 



Productions. — Silver Ware. — Woollen and Cotton Goods. — Sardines. — Canned 
Meats, Fruits, Wines, etc. — Summation of the Main Conditions for Success in 
Mechanics and Manufactures : Select the Avocation wisely; become a Thorough 
Master of it ; find a Favorable Location ; be Alert for all Opportunities ; always 
aim Higher * Page 331 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION. 

How Trade and Transportation increase Values. — Number of Persons Engaged. — 
Railroads : Their Progress in the United States. — Their Total Cost. — Capital 
Stock and Debt. — Gross Income and Dividends. — Losers and Gainers. — Specu- 
lation in Stocks. — Prospects for Railroad Enterprise. — Employes of Railroads 
and their Average Earnings. — Number of Passengers and Ratio of Accidents. — 
Ca?ial Navigation : Extent and Cost of Canals. — Probable Future of Canals. — 
Steam Navigation : Miles of Navigable Water within the United States. — Num- 
ber of Steamers, Capital Invested, and Gross Earnings. — Wages paid in Different 
Sections. — Total Mercantile Water-craft of the United States. — Telegraphs and 
Telephoiies : Statistics of Telegraph Companies. — Operators and their Salaries. 
Requisites for a Successful Operator. — Prospects of Operators 350 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

GENERAL REQUISITES FOR MERCANTILE SUCCESS. 

Large Proportion of Mercantile Failures. — This Industry Overcrowded. — Reasons 
for this. — Large Establishments destroy Small Ones. — Prospects of Clerks and 
Book-keepers. — Chief Requisites for Mercantile Success : Good Credit, Sagacity 
in Buying and Selling. — Judicious Enterprise. — Fluctuations in Production and 
Demand. — Every Industry is Connected with Every Other. — Available Capital. 
— Business Capacity is Capital. — Ready for Opportunities. — Illustrative Exam- 
ple. — Retrospect of Ordinary Opportunities. — General Conclusions. — Special 
Vocations 360 



CHAPTER XXX. 

HOUSE - BUILDING AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 

Necessity for Competent Architects. — Our Public and Private Buildings Defective. 
— We Live more In-doors than Out-of-doors. — Employing an Architect. — In- 
creasing Opportunities for Architects. — What is Required of them. — Adapta- 
tion of a Design to its Uses. — Hints for House-builders. — Modifications Ac- 
cording to Climate. — Painting. — Foundation, Roof, and Chimneys. — Interior 
Arrangements. — Light and Ventilation. — Privies and Water-closets. — Estimat- 
ing Cost. — Superintendence by the Architect. — Prospects for Architects in the 
Newer States and in the South.— In the Union Generally. — Plumbers and Gas- 
fitters : Science and Skill Required. — Evils from Bad Plumbing. — House-warm- 
ing. — Furnaces 368 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

HOUSEHOLD DECORATIONS AND FURNITURE. 



Care for the Beautiful. — Pleasing Colors.— Designing Wall-papers as an Occu- 
pation. — Arrangement of Forms and Colors. — The Dado, Interspace, and 



XIV 



CONTENTS. 



Frieze. — The Ceiling. — Windows and Doors. — The Fireplace. — Marble and 
Wooden Mantels.— Carpets. — Where Carpets are out of Place. — Opportunities 
for House Decorators. — Decorative Furniture. — Furniture and Homes. — Utility 
and Beauty.— Durability. — Good and Bad Cabinet-making— Opportunities Pre- 
sented Page 385 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

DECORATIVE POTTERY, OR CERAMICS. 

Antiquity and Prevalence of the Art.— Uses to which it was Applied. — An African 
Potter of the Present Day. — Growing Taste for Ceramics. — The Ceramic 
"Craze." — Progress and Prospects of Ceramics in the United States.— Ce- 
ramic Home Decoration. — Illustrative Exemplar. — Opportunities for Ceramic 
Artists. — Schools of Industrial Art. — The Cooper Institute. — Drawing and 
Designing , 395 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 

The Popularizing of Works of Art. — The Public the Best Patron.— Designers for 
Engravers. — Engravers. — Lithography. — Copperplate - engraving. — Method of 
Printing. — Etching. — Uses of Copperplate - engraving. — Wood - engraving. — 
Comparison between this and Copperplate. — Black Lines and White Lines. — 
Progress of Wood - engraving. — Early Specimens. — Recent Rapid Progress in 
the United States. — The Causes of this. — Cost of Good Engravings. — Oppor- 
tunities Furnished by Wood - engraving. — Requisites for Success. — A Pro- 
fession for Women 402 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SCIENCES AND ARTS. 

The Sciences and the Arts Applied to Practical Ends.— Who are the Great Work- 
ers.— Physical Science. — Applied Sciences. — Chemistry. — Civil Engineering. — 
Its Work and its Rewards. — " Getting an Education. 11 — Classical and Scientific 
Courses of Study. — Electricity. — What it has Accomplished and may Accom- 
plish. — Mineralogy. — Importance of Mineral Products. — Opportunities for the 
Mineralogist. — American Schools of Mines.— Glass-working. — Decorative Glass. 
— Glass-painting. — Affords increasing Opportunities for Artists. — Ornamental 
Glassware. — Working in the Precious Metals. — Silverware and Jewellery. — 
Rapid Increase in Workmen shows Increase of Opportunities 412 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

PATENTS, PATENT -RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 

What Constitutes a Patent. — Earliest Patents in England and America. — Objections 
Urged against Patents. — Extent of the Patent System. — Patents in European 
States.— American Patents. — Mode of Obtaining a Patent. — The Invention must 
be Useful and New.— Completeness of the Invention.— What may be Patented. 
— Forfeiture of the Right to a Patent.— Caveats.— Abandonment of a Patent.— 
Infringements of Patent-rights.— American Patentees and Patents— Number of 
Issues.— Distribution in Different Sections.— Principal Articles for which Pat- 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



ents have been Taken Out. — Some Minor Subjects. — Number of Inventors. — 
Profits of Inventors. — How the Value of a Patent may be Affected. — Ex- 
amples. — The Revolving Turret. — Opportunities for Inventors. — Mechanical 
Progress of the United States.— Requisites for an Inventor.— The Possible and 
the Impossible. — Learning what has been Attempted or Accomplished. — Some 
Cautions.— Clear Specifications in the Claim for a Patent— The Future of 
Inventors Page 425 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

MINOR PROFESSIONAL VOCATIONS. 

The Stage : Number of Performers. — Fascination of the Stage. — Its Disadvantages 
and Temptations.— The Opera.— Perils of Studying Abroad.— Music Teachers 
and Musicians : Increasing Importance of Music as a Branch of Education. — 
Increase in the Number of this Profession. — Women as Teachers and Private 
Performers.— The Platform : Public Lectures and Recitations.— Opportunities 
for Popular Lecturers. — Canvassers and Agents : The Commercial Traveller. — 
The Book-agent, or Canvasser— Peculiarities of the Book Trade.— Requisites 
for Success.— Good Books and Responsible Publishers. — A Good Address. — 
Neither Bore nor Beggar. — An Honorable Vocation. — Choice of Location. — 
Opportunities as a Permanent Occupation. — Constant Increase in the Demand 
for Books. — Prospects of the Book Canvasser 447 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 

New Mineral Fields to be Explored : Tin, and its Probable Existence in the United 
States. — Aluminum and Magnesium "the Metals of the Future." — Their Qual- 
ities and Uses, if Cheaply Produced. — New Fields in Chemistry: Valuable 
Products from Old or Worthless Materials. — Electro -magnetism. — Aniline 
Dyes. — Importance of the Dyeing Industry. — New Textile Plants. — The Silk- 
worm. — Wools and Furs. — Paper, and New Paper Materials. — Papier-mache, 
and its Uses. — Acclimatization of New Plants. — Mate and Coca. — Canning of 
Meats, Fish, Fruits, and Vegetables. — Devices for the Conservation of Heat. — 
The Solar Engine. — Utilization of Motive Powers. — Electro-magnetic Motive 
Power. — Compressed Air. — Where it may be Economically Used as a Motive 
Power. — The Mont Cenis Tunnel. — Compression by Water-power or by Steam- 
power. — Windmills. — Sandmills 459 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

BUILDING MATERIALS. 

Increasing Scarcity of Timber. — The Quarries must Make Up for the Forests. — Im- 
portance of our Quarries. — Concretes and Artificial Stone. — Beton-Coignet. — 
Ransom's Concrete Stone. — The Sorel Artificial Stone. — The Frear Artificial 
Stone. — Portland Stone. — Opportunities for Invention and Experiment. — Se- 
lection of Natural Building Stone. — Brick our Chief Future Building Material. 
— Clays Suitable for Bricks. — Moulding and Burning the Brick. — Terra-cotta. 
— Iron in Building. — Influence of More Durable Materials upon our Archi- 
tecture. — The Sand-blast. — Uses to which it is Applied. — Ornamental Work. 
— The Dressing of Stone. — Turning of Pilasters. — Machinery and House- , 
building 477 



xvi 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

WORK FOR WOMEN. 

Women's Work and Wages. — The Number of Working-women. — Women in Out- 
door Labor. — Some Female Farmers. — A Woman's View of the Matter. — Hor- 
ticulture and Floriculture. — Illustrative Instances, and Cautions. — Domestic 
Service. — Why Women are Paid Less than Men. — Women as Workers in 
Silverware. — Women as Artists. — Usually Impatient of Study. — The Metro- 
politan Art School. — Various Opportunities for Women as Artists. — Pupils of 
the Cooper Institute. — Wood-engraving. — The Free Art School. — Art Teach- 
ers. — Coloring Photographs. — Painting on China. — Embroidery. — Women who 
should not Study Art for a Living. — Art and Matrimony .... Page 486 

CHAPTER XL. 

WORK FOR WOMEN— Continued. 

Women as Clerks and Book-keepers. — Telegraphy. — Type-writing. — Type-setting : 
How Learned, and How Paid. — Opportunities which it Presents. — The Civil 
Service : For what Positions Women are Eligible. — Mode of Obtaining them. 
— Examinations. — Appointments. — Working of the Civil Service System. — 
Opportunities which it should Present. — Law, Divinity, and Medicine. — Teach- 
ing : Salaries of Male and Female Teachers. — In the New York Grammar 
Schools. — Nursing : Untrained Nurses. — Nursing as a Regular Profession. — 
The Nurse and the Physician. — Nursing a New Profession. — Training Schools 
for Nurses. — The New York Bellevue Hospital School. — Its Course of Study. — 
Results of the Experiment. — Pecuniary Value of Health. — Opportunities Pre- 
sented for the Profession of Nurse. — Hints for Household Nurses . . .510 

CHAPTER XLI. 

AMUSEMENTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 

Work and Play. — The Stage. — Music. — Non-professional Musicians. — Halls for 
Amusements. — Amateur Bands. — Making Home Cheerful. — Amusements one 
Attraction in City Life. — Good Example in some Manufacturing Towns. — 
Pleasure and Profit. — Some wise Social Provisions for Operatives. — Corpora- 
tion Boarding-houses. — Amusements at Resorts for Pleasure. — Of an Out-door 
Character. — Music a Chief Attraction. — Music, in itself, never a Debasing 
Amusement. — The Free Concerts. — Importance of Amusements. — Variety in 
Amusements. — Family Amusements. — The Day of Rest, and Hours of Rest 
each Day. — Labor-saving Machinery and Amusements 531 

CHAPTER XLIL 

LABOR-SAVING MACHINERY AND WORKING-MEN. 

Machinery does Injure some Individuals. — The Injury not always Directly Compen- 
sated. — Indirect Compensations. — Nothing is Useful which is not Consumed. — 
Increase of Production stimulates Consumption- — Increased Consumption 
means Increased Comfort. — Summary of the Benefits arising from Labor-saving 
Machinery. — Our Condition without Machinery. — W 7 ho have Opposed, and still 
Oppose it. — Its Further Introduction Inevitable. — Skilled and Unskilled Labor 
vs. Machinery. — What the Workman must Do. — He must not Content himself 



CONTEXTS. 



xvii 



with being Able to Do One Thing. — He must be Ready for all Opportunities. — 



No Perfect System of Registration of Deaths in the United States as in England. — 
Number of Deaths in a Thousand in i860. 1870, and 1880.— These Numbers do 
not Indicate any Actual Increase as Compared with the Population. — Correction 
of the Census of 1880. — Death-rate of England and Scotland Compared with 
that of the United States. — Number of Deaths from the Principal Diseases. — 
Death-rate as to Color. — Death-rate as to Sex.— Death-rate as to Age.— Death- 
rate as to Locality. — Death-rate of the Different States.— Analysis of Death- 
rate in Different Localities. — Effect of Climate on Death-rate. — Consideration 
of Death-rate by Groups of States.— Death-rate in Cities.— Inaccuracy of the 
Statistics of 1870 . . 553 



The Influence of Climate on Health.— Temperature Dependent upon Several Causes. 
— Influence of Forests on Climate. — Difference in Climate between the Eastern 
and Western Continents.— Difference between the Atlantic and Pacific Shores 
of the Western Continent. — Temperature of the Great Central Plateau of the 
United States.— Extremes of Mean Annual Temperature.— Extreme Range of 
Temperature. — Consideration of Rainfall. — No Variation in Great Britain and 
the United States in Seventy Years.— Variations in Different Localities the Re- 
sult of Inaccuracies. — Variations Great at Different Points on the Globe. — Dif- 
ferences at Various Points in the United States.— Table of Mean Temperature 
and Rainfall in the States.— Rainfall in Relation to Agriculture.— Periodicity 
of Rainfall. — Irrigation 564 



Education. — What this Implies 



Page 542 



CHAPTER XLIII. 



HEALTH AND MORTALITY. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 



CLIMATE, TEMPERATURE, AND RAINFALL. 



NOTES 



573 



APPENDIX 



585 



1* 



I 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

The Promised Land : Frontispiece 

Ploughing and Harrowing in Dakota 33 

Sowing and Reaping in Dakota 43 

A Harvest Scene in Scotland 61 

Vintage at San Gabriel . . ) 

\ 87 

Irrigating an Orange Grove \ 

Almont ) 

\ Celebrated American Trotters 107 

Rarus ) 

King Rene \ 

Ethan Allen, Jun., Aberdeen, Happy \ Celebrated American Trotters . .115 
Medium, and Almont Lightning . J 

Iroquois . . . ) 

y Celebrated American Rumiers . .121 
Foxhall Winning the Grand Prix ) 

Sheep Tending ) 

y . . . o 127 

A Barn-yard . ) 

View of Echo Farm Buildings from Pastures ) 

JERSEVS f • ' • 137 

A Home Lawn 149 

"A Field Bouquet" 169 

Returning from Work 187 

Turning a River 195 

Miner at Work— Old Manner of Working . . . ) 

>• 207 

New Manner of Working — Coal-cutting Machine ) 

Petroleum Pumping Well near Oil City 213 

Light of the Pyrosoma 223 

Salmon-fishing 229 

Avenue of Hemlocks and Spruces 239 

Snaking out Logs 255 

Rafts in the Dells • . . 259 

Main Entrance to the Cathedral, Seville 285 



XX 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

The Gates of Ghiberti 295 

Carved Decorative Panel . . ) 

>- 307 

Columbus before the Council ) 

" Evening " ) 

y 325 

Sculpture over Door of St. Hubert's ) 

A Souvenir ; 345 

Bay-window in W. K. Vanderbilt's House, Fifty-Second Street, New 

York 353 

Frieze : The Lady of Shalott ) 

y 361 

Hall and Staircase . . . . ) 

Modern Dwellings — Design No. i ) 

>- . , v ..-.. . . 369 

Modern Dwellings — Design No. 2 ) 

Ebony Cabinet * ^ 

Chest in Carved Oak, Inlaid with Colored Wood. Norman Work, I 379 

1550 • J 

Parlor Decoration 389 

Trenton and its Potteries ) 

Decorating-room of Trenton Pottery ) 397 

Faience Vase 405 

On a Market-boat in North Holland 421 

Saint Cecilia 439 

Jacques Cartier Setting up a Cross at Gaspe . . . , 449 

Home Decoration 461 

A Sunday Morning in Surrey 473 

A Library Effect 487 

Embroidered Screen ». 497 

Spring-time 507 

Some Art Connoisseurs * 517 

Among the Weeds 525 

Lost Lenore 537 

The Sisters 547 

The Ghost in " Hamlet" 553 

Cloud Effect on Mount Lafayette . 561 

A Winter Rendezvous . 569 



For Notes on Illustrations, see pages 573-583. 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK. 

ALL men wish for success in life; and most men endeavor, 
with more or less energy and perseverance, to attain it. 
The universal desire to better ones condition is a natural and 
laudable one. The petition for " a mind always contented with 
our present condition " is one which few persons can offer with- 
out much mental reservation. Morbid discontent and querulous 
repining at our lot in life is indeed to be deprecated. But the 
invalid may rightly pray for health, and is culpable if he fails to 
do all he can to gain it. The hungry man rightly prays for 
food, the naked for clothing, the poor man for competence, the 
ignorant for instruction ; and that for or against which a man 
may and should pray, is that for or against which he may and 
should endeavor by all honest and honorable means. 

Success in life, as we all understand it, implies not merely 
freedom from absolute want and privation, but the possession of 
comforts and conveniences. All men can sincerely join in one 
part of the prayer of Agur, the son of Jakeh : " Give me not 
poverty ;" but few men, we fancy, sincerely join in the other 
part : " Neither give me riches." For all men feel that poverty 
is in itself an evil. There have, indeed, been great and noble 
men whose lives were passed in poverty, just as there have been 
such men whose lives were passed in pain and sickness ; but 
they were great and noble in spite of their poverty and sickness 

— not in consequence of them. Far wiser, in our judgment, is 

i 



2 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



that other passage in this same Hebrew Book of Proverbs 
which exhorts men to get wisdom, because that, among other 
reasons, " Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left 
hand riches and honor." Wealth is a good thing — a thing to 
be desired and striven for. A man may, indeed, strive for it by 
dishonest and dishonorable means, and then its acquisition is a 
bane and a disgrace to him ; he may misuse it, just as he may 
misuse health or strength, learning or genius. In either case 
the evil is not in the acquisition or the possession, but in the 
misuse, or, which is essentially the same thing, the failure to 
make a good use of a thing good in itself. 

Wherever a change in one's condition is desirable it is right 
to effect a change. It is right, if a man's position is a bad one, 
that he should seek for a good one ; if it is a good one, that 
he should seek for a better. The right position for a man to 
occupy is the best one to which he can honestly and honorably 
attain by the best exercise of all his powers and the best use of 
all his opportunities. 

Many foolish things are dinned into our ears by _ men who 
should know better. None of these are more foolish than the 
perpetual lamentations over the "materialistic tendencies" of 
the age, and more especially of the American people — of their 
persistent desire and effort to acquire wealth. We hold that 
when the Creator gave us such abundant means of becoming 
rich it was that we should become so, and that we are culpable 
if we do not endeavor to become so, and unwise if we do not 
succeed. Unless one of the wisest men who ever lived was 
greatly in error, there is no incompatibility between the strictest 
care for our material interests and the highest spiritual life. 
He exhorts us to be "in diligence not slothful" no less ear- 
nestly than to be " fervent in spirit," since in both alike we shall . 
be " serving the Lord." This same great man, who has been 
styled "the Apostle of Faith," ranks what naturally results 
from carelessness in this respect as an evidence of the gravest 
demerit. To his most confidential friend he writes : " If any 
provideth not for his own, and especially his own household, he 
hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever." With- 



THE AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK. 



out this worldly carefulness one cannot provide for his house- 
hold ; and unless he shows his faith by this kind of works, he is 
worse than if he had no faith at all ; and certainly it is no more 
a man's duty to provide for his household than for himself. 

In fact, a man's merit is to a very great degree rightly esti- 
mated by his success. It is the reverse of a compliment to a 
man to call him idle, improvident, negligent, careless, or shift- 
less ; it is not a compliment to call him poor. Many persons 
talk as though they considered it to be a kind of misdemeanor 
for any other man to be rich, or, at all events, to be much 
richer than his neighbors. But if one will look a little into 
the matter he will be pretty sure to find that the censor really 
means to inveigh only against those who are notably richer 
than he is. His conscience is not at all disturbed if he finds 
himself richer than somebody else ; the real grievance with 
such a man is that anybody should be richer than he himself 
is. Ask him to draw the line where the possession of wealth 
becomes wrong, and you may be perfectly sure that it will not 
be below his own position, whatever that may be. 

In truth, no man really believes any such thing; and no 
wise or considerate man acts or talks as though he believed it. 
Of course, if a man, for any reason, cannot get money honestly, 
it is better for him not to get it at all. If the choice lies 
between roguery and poverty, then poverty is to be chosen. 
It is better to wear a patched coat than to steal a whole one ; 
it may be better even to endure hunger than to appropriate a 
loaf of bread. But no man of ordinary sense and principle 
urges his son to refrain from earning wealth, and accumulating 
his earnings, at least up to a certain amount, which usually is 
left altogether undefined. If a father ever urges his son to 
work and save until he has accumulated a certa'n sum, and 
then to stop, it is pretty sure that the limit will be quite beyond 
that which he supposes the boy will ever reach. It is utter 
folly to attempt to draw the line beyond which any individual 
man cannot honestly earn money — to say that he may accumu- 
late one thousand dollars, or ten thousand, or a hundred thou- 
sand, or any other sum, and must then go out of business, what- 



4 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



ever his business may be. One of the ablest of our preachers 
once replied to a parishioner who said that he meant to retire 
while in the prime of life ; " You have no more right to do so 
than I have to give up my work of preaching while I am able 
to perform it." We should accept this only with many reserva- 
tions. When a man has acquired enough to " provide for his 
own household," he may, if he pleases, retire from hard work — 
he has accomplished the task imposed upon him in this respect. 
There is, however, little danger from this side. It is not the 
purpose of this volume to point out what a man should do after 
he has attained success in life, but to indicate some of the paths 
by which he may hope to reach that success. 

No man can reasonably hope to attain that success of which 
we are speaking unless he shall avail himself of the opportuni- 
ties which lie before him, or which he may bring within his 
reach. These opportunities consist, in the first place, of the 
capacities and talents with which he may be endowed ; and 
these are capable of quite indefinite improvement. A man is, 
so to speak, himself the implement with which he is to work. 
Hand and brain, eye and ear, should be trained to the utmost 
extent of their capabilities for the work which they have to do. 
A man must, before all things, endeavor to make the most of 
himself. No man, we suppose, ever did this to the utmost pos- 
sible extent. The most successful man will feel that he has 
only partially succeeded in his self-education. If he has not 
done many things which he ought not to have done, he has cer- 
tainly left undone many things which he ought to have done. 
No man, perhaps, makes the most of himself; but no one who 
does not make much of himself will ever make much of any- 
thing else. 

A man's opportunities also lie greatly in the circumstances 
and conditions by which he is surrounded. It rests upon him 
to accommodate himself to these by fitting himself to them 
or them to himself. No man can do all things ; but many 
men can do more than one thing. If a man cannot find the 
work which he would best like to do, he must learn to like 
the best which he can find to do ; and in the mean while be 



THE AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK. 



5 



on the alert for something better. Good opportunities some- 
times come to one without his seeking them ; oftener they will 
not be found unsought When a promising opportunity pre- 
sents itself or is found, seize upon it. More men fail of reach- 
ing success from hesitancy than from rashness, and more still 
from lack of fitness for making good use of the opportunity 
when it does occur. An opportunity once lost is lost forever. 
Another may, indeed, come or be found ; but the mill never 
grinds again with water which is past. 

The aim of this book is a purely practical one. It is pur- 
posed to take a comprehensive survey of the principal industries 
and avocations which are or may be carried on in this country, 
with a view to ascertain and set forth the opportunities which 
they severally present for the attainment of success in life. The 
field to be surveyed is a wide one, embracing not only general 
principles, but minute details. There can be no trustworthy 
forecast for the future without a careful survey of the present 
and a comparison with the past. To judge whether any avoca- 
tion in life is likely to prove a desirable one, it is essential to 
ascertain all the facts bearing upon the case : how many per- 
sons are now engaged in it, and whether the number is greater 
or less, in proportion to the whole population, than formerly; 
what are the respective rates of remuneration, and whether 
they are stationary, increasing, or diminishing ; whether the 
products themselves will be in future demand, and whether 
there is likely to be any change in the methods by which they 
are produced ; what improvements may be made either in the 
products themselves or in their modes of production. These, 
and numerous other conditions and circumstances, enter into 
the investigation. 

Such an inquiry must be based upon actual and ascertained 
facts. Statistics, or the collecting and grouping together of 
facts, are the only reliable bases for speculation and theory. 
These facts must be gathered from many sources. The per- 
sonal experience of no one man is wide enough to inform him 
as to all which he needs to know upon any subject. He must 
supplement and correct the results of his own observation by 



6 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



that of others. The merchant must study the statistics of all the 
markets with which he has even indirectly to do. The manu- 
facturer must learn from dry figures what quantity of his wares 
are likely to be wanted, and whether the markets anywhere are 
fairly supplied, overstocked, or understocked. The study of 
statistical tables may appear a dry one, but it is more or less 
essential in every avocation. A single table of figures, like 
those contained in a page of this volume, often contains a mass 
of valuable information to collect and arrange which has cost 
the labor of many men for many days, weeks, or months. 
They involve, indeed, an amount of labor and a consequent 
expense quite beyond the resources of individuals, and only to 
be executed by the Government, through the agency of the 
Census Bureau. The entire appropriation for taking the cen- 
sus of 1880 was almost four millions of dollars ($3,960,000), 
and still further amounts were required. 

This expenditure has been wisely incurred. The United 
States census of 1880 is, beyond doubt, more wisely planned 
and more thoroughly executed than any similar work which has 
been attempted in any other country. Of the more than fifty 
millions of people living in the United States on the 1st day of 
June, 18S0, the age, sex, residence, and place of birth are given; 
the special employment or avocation of each of them engaged 
in any industrial occupation is noted, with the total value of the 
products of their labor; and as nearly as possible the average 
amount of wages earned. The capital invested in all great in- 
dustries is shown, and the value of all products is stated. The 
domestic animals also come within the scope of the census. 
We are told how many cattle and horses, mules and asses, sheep 
and swine there are, not only in each State of the Union, but in 
each county. In brief, there is hardly anything which enters 
into the material welfare of the people which does not here find 
a place. The bare " Compendium of the Census Report," which 
consists mainly of tabulated figures, comprises two large vol- 
umes, and the complete Report, if printed in ordinary volumes, 
would contain matter enough to constitute a respectable school 
library. 



THE AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK. 



7 



Few persons have at their disposal the time which would be 
required to read, even in the most cursory manner, such an 
enormous mass of matter. It has been attempted in this vol- 
ume to select and arrange the most important facts in the Cen- 
sus Report which bear most directly upon the question of the 
attainment of success in life. But we have by no means con- 
fined ourselves to this great storehouse of information. The 
successive reports of the Agricultural Department are hardly 
less important than those of the Census Bureau ; and many 
other public and private documents have been consulted 
throughout the months which have been devoted to the prep- 
aration of this volume. It has, moreover, been a special object 
to compare the present condition of each subject with the past, 
in order to be able to form some estimate of what may be an- 
ticipated in the near future. We touch in detail upon some of 
the main features of the book, in order to show how the infor- 
mation embodied bears upon the condition and welfare of the 
various classes of society. 

Population. — It is obvious that the total population of a 
country, and the ratio which it bears to the area of territory, lie 
at the very basis of all statistics. Without knowing this, we 
know scarcely anything of a people. But our population dif- 
fers from that of every other civilized country in this, that a 
very notable proportion of it are emigrants from other lands ; 
and it is of importance to know whence come these accessions 
to our population, and in what sections of the country they 
chiefly take up their residence. Besides this, and perhaps of 
more consequence, is the fact that there is a vast migration of 
native-born citizens from one section or state to another. Now, 
men migrate mainly in hope to improve their condition; and 
when there is a strong and continuous current of migration in 
any direction, and little or no return flow, it is prima facie evi- 
dence that the conditions of life have, upon the whole, been 
found more favorable in the direction to which the movement 
is directed than in that from which it tends. 

It by no means follows that everybody should migrate from 
his home, even if some other section presents some superior nat- 



8 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



ural advantages ; for there are few regions from which one can 
change his residence without some cost and inconvenience, and 
without giving up many advantages. But if for any reason one 
purposes to emigrate, it befits him to go where the advantages 
of a change seem to be the greatest. That many others circum- 
stanced like himself have found any particular section favorable 
to them is one evidence that he will also find it so. It is in 
this respect that the chapter on migrations will be found valu- 
able. The table accompanying this chapter shows from what 
States and sections emigration goes, and to which it comes. 

But there are other factors which enter into the solution of 
the problem of emigration. While it is true that it is safe to 
go where many others have gone with advantage, it by no 
means follows that it is not wise to go where few others have 
already gone. For example, the emigration from the North to 
the South, and vice versa, has hitherto been very limited. Some 
of the chief circumstances to which this is owing no longer 
exist; and there can be no reason to doubt that very many 
Southern men would now find better opportunities at the 
North, and very many Northern men better opportunities at 
the South. The question, in any case, hangs upon the special 
capacities and inclinations of the individual, and the answer 
should be given after a full examination of all the data sup- 
plied in this volume. 

Farming. — That agriculture, in its widest acceptation, will 
for a long time form the greatest American industry is certain, 
from the fact of the great area of our country as compared with 
its population, and the increasing demand from abroad for our 
food -products. We shall have to supply not only our own 
rapidly-increasing population, but to furnish much to large por- 
tions of Europe. Great Britain, France, Germany, and some 
other countries of Europe, must look to us for much of their 
food, and for it they must pay us prices at which we can afford 
to produce it. So long as agriculture shall be more profitable 
than other occupations, it will attract more and more of our 
industry. Much space has therefore been devoted to the agri- 
cultural statistics of the present time, and of the last decade. 



THE AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK. 



Each of our great crops has been taken up in order. The 
value of the whole crop, and the average value per acre, has 
been laboriously detailed ; and means have been suggested by 
which the amount of the crops may be greatly increased. It 
is shown that by a wise selection of seed-grain, and by more 
judicious cultivation, the product of the acreage now under 
cultivation might be made twice as great as it now is. In this 
respect the Reports of the Agricultural Department have been 
found of high value. 

Fruit-culture and Gardening. — The products of the Gar- 
den, the Orchard, and the Vineyard, as distinguished from the 
great cereal crops, are just beginning to receive the attention 
which they deserve. Full and accurate statistics as to these 
are not as yet attainable ; but enough is at hand to show be- 
yond question that these avocations present great opportunities 
to very many persons in every section of the country. The 
information conveyed in relation to the advantages of the culti- 
vation of the orange and the grape in California, the orange in 
Florida, the peach and the pear in various sections, and the 
hints and suggestions as to the apple - culture in the more 
Northern States, should be of great value to the orchardist 
and the gardener. 

Live -stock and Dairy Products. — In respect to these 
great interests the means of information are unusually ample. 
Statistics evince the almost unequalled growth of these indus- 
tries, placing them at present, and still more so in the future, 
as among the foremost of the advancing industrial interests of 
the United States — industries connected with many others, and 
in which there is scarcely a possibility of rivalry. 

Forestry. — In nothing else have the American people been 
so deplorably culpable as in the manner in which they have 
treated, and are now treating, the native forests in every section 
of the Union. It has been one of the chief aims of this volume 
to show that this is the most vitally important problem with 
which this generation is concerned. A country bared of its trees 
is a ruined country, as is abundantly evinced by all human his- 
tory ; and we are working this ruin at a rate to which there is 



10 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



no parallel. The general relations of forests to the water-supply 
of a country is dwelt upon at length ; for, next to air, water is 
the thing essential to all animal and vegetable life. Of incal- 
culable importance, also, is the due supply of wood for lumber. 
Without this there is scarcely an industry that would not lan- 
guish and fall into decay. It is shown that at the present rate 
of wanton destruction the supply of white-pine — our most valu- 
able timber-tree — will be practically exhausted in less than ten 
years ; that the yellow-pine and cypress of the South will last 
only a few years more ; and that the noble red-wood of Cali- 
fornia is threatened with speedy extinction by native careless- 
ness and foreign greed. It is urged that not another acre of 
the forest-land still in possession of the National Government 
be granted to any railroad or other corporation, or be sold to 
any individual purchaser, but that the whole shall be conserved 
as timber-land for this generation and for those who shall come 
after us. 

The Manufacturing and Mechanical Industries of the 
country have received full and careful consideration. An ear- 
nest attempt has been made to show, by an ample array of 
statistics, what is the present condition and what the future 
prospect, of each of the great trades and occupations. The 
numbers engaged in each section of the country have been 
collated, and the wages paid have been gathered from all au- 
thentic sources. The statistics of the principal cities, in this 
respect, are especially valuable, because they affect greater num- 
bers, and can be ascertained more accurately, than is possible 
in the country and in small villages. The effect which the 
introduction of machinery into mechanical and manufacturing 
industries has upon the condition and prospects of working-men 
and operatives has been made the subject of special considera- 
tion. The general conclusion arrived at is, that if proper train- 
ing and education be received by those especially interested 
the ultimate result will continue to be favorable, as it certainly 
has been hitherto. It is not, however, lost sight of that in 
many individual cases great hardship has been, and will be, 
occasioned from the displacement of human labor by machinery, 



THE AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK. 



11 



and suggestions have been made for the benefit of those who 
are likely to be involved in this competition. 

Trade and Commerce. — Every person, no matter what his 
employment, is to a certain extent a trader. The workman 
sells his labor, the manufacturer his wares, the professional man 
his science and skill ; and every one who sells anything must 
buy something, or else what he sells is a sheer loss to him. A 
survey has been attempted of the purely trading interests of the 
country, including those involved in the transportation of wares 
and goods rather than their production, with a view to ascertain 
wherein are to be found opportunities for success, and to point 
out the special qualifications requisite for its attainment. 

The Mines of the United States will probably in time come 
to be more important than those of all the rest of the world. 
We have iron and copper to any amount that can ever be re- 
quired. A third of the world's gold, and half of the silver, are 
now produced within our territory. There is, indeed, no impor- 
tant metal except tin for which we need look abroad ; and it is 
confidently asserted by some that there are tin mines yet to be 
discovered and developed. This, however, for the present, may 
be considered problematical. Our supply of coal is inexhaust- 
ible within any assignable number of centuries ; and there is no 
likelihood that petroleum will be largely found elsewhere, or 
that we shall be unable to supply all that the world will ever 
need. The mining statistics of the country have, therefore, 
been carefully elaborated, with constant reference to the induce- 
ments presented for persons in the practical work of mining, 
and more especially in those departments in which science and 
skill are required. 

The Fisheries are considered as fully as the somewhat de- 
fective materials attainable would permit. There are, however, 
quite sufficient data to show that the artificial breeding and 
rearing of fish must come to be a very important industry, and 
one every way worthy of the consideration of those who are in 
a position to enter upon it. The United States Fishery Com- 
mission has done and is still doing a most valuable work in de- 
veloping our industrial capabilities. 



12 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



The Professional Occupations have been duly considered. 
Those especially which have a direct bearing upon the building 
and adornment of home are dwelt upon in detail. It has been 
the aim here to indicate how we should build our dwellings, and 
by what means we should beautify and adorn them. It is the 
people that here stand in need of instruction and advice. When 
they know what kind of houses to build, suitable for the various 
extremes of our climate, and how those houses may best be 
warmed, lighted, and decorated, there need be no fear that per- 
sons will be found ready to qualify themselves for these labors. 
Architects and artists may rest satisfied that opportunities for 
them will increase with the growth of the country in wealth and 
refinement. 

The Applied Sciences, and Inventions. — The opportuni- 
ties which already exist or may be created for the profitable ap- 
plication of scientific, artistic, and inventive skill and knowledge 
are kept steadily in view throughout nearly every chapter, and 
in relation to almost every subject treated of. " The more skil- 
ful the labor, the greater the remuneration which it will receive," 
is the cardinal principle of this volume. 

Health and Mortality. — The annual death-rate of each 
State is given, and the kinds of diseases specially prevalent in 
various sections, as nearly as they can be ascertained from the 
investigations of the Census Bureau. The information thus 
embodied will be of more special value to those who contem- 
plate a change of residence from one section to another, whether 
for health or any other reason. 

Work for Women. — Special care has been taken to point 
out what are the avocations in which women are now engaged ; 
in what proportion they are employed ; and what remuneration 
they receive as compared with that paid to men in similar w»ork 
in those employments in which both sexes are to any extent 
engaged. An attempt has been made to show why it is that, 
as a rule, women receive less remuneration than men, and to 
indicate what may be done to remove this disparity. It is 
urged that like work should receive like pay, altogether irre- 
spective, of the sex of the recipient. Various directions are 



THE AIM AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK. 



13 



indicated in which women may look for opportunities, together 
with hints and suggestions as to the requisites for success in 
each of them. It is hoped that the views here presented will 
do something towards the solution of a question of such vital 
importance. 

Amusements. — While it is assumed that labor of some kind 
is and must be the rule in life for all men and women, the neces- 
sity for healthful recreation, not only for itself, but as one means 
of securing more and better work, is strenuously insisted upon. 
Suesrestions are offered as to the kinds of amusements to be 
fostered, and the kinds to be discountenanced, together with 
some of the means by which innocent and beneficial public 
amusements may be provided. 

In fine : in the view of this book honorable success in life 
is attainable by most men who are not disqualified by mental 
or physical infirmity from availing themselves of the opportu- 
nities which are placed within their reach ; and this success will 
be, as a rule, in direct proportion to the sagacity with which 
they select their respective avocations, the knowledge and skill 
which they bring into exercise, and the honesty and integrity 
which they habitually maintain in all their dealings with others. 



14 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER II. 

WHO ARE SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES. 

THE United States comprise thirty-eight States and nine 
organized Territories, including the District of Columbia, 
having a land-surface of 2,970,000 square miles, or 1,900,800,000 
acres, including the as yet unorganized Indian Territory of 
68,991 square miles. Besides these is Alaska, having 530,000 
square miles, and only about 33,500 inhabitants, of whom not 
more than 500 are whites. The population of the Indian Ter- 
ritory and Alaska is not included in the census. 

The population of the States and Territories on June 1, 
1880, was 50,155,783. In 1870 it was 38,558,371 : an increase 
in 1880 of 11,597,412, or 30.1 per cent. The males numbered 
25,518,820, the females 24,636,963: an excess of males over 
females of 881,857, or 3.5 per cent. In thirty States and Ter- 
ritories the males outnumber the females ; in seventeen the 
females outnumber the males. 

Of the population 43,475,840 were of native birth, and 
6,679,943 — about one -eighth — of foreign birth. These immi- 
grants come to us from about sixty countries. From each of 
the following nationalities there are more than 100,000: From 
Germany, about 1,967,000; Ireland, 1,854,000; Great Britain, 
918,000; British America, 717,000; Sweden and Norway, 
378,000; France, 107,000; China, 105,000. Of the total pop- 
ulation, 43,402,970 are classed as whites ; 6,580,793 as col- 
ored; 105,465 as Chinese; 66,407 as civilized Indians; 141 as 
Japanese. 

Table I. shows for each State the area of land-surface ; the 
number of inhabitants per square mile; the population in 1880 
and 1870, with the ratio of increase; the number of males and 



WHO ARE SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES. 



15 



females ; and the number of native-born and of foreign-born 
inhabitants. 

TABLE L— AREA AND POPULATION. 



Arizona. 



California. . . 
Colorado. . . . 
Connecticut 

Dakota 

Delaware . . . 
Dist.ofCol.. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky... 
Louisiana. . . 

Maine 

Maryland . . . 
Massachus'tts 
Michigan . . 
Minnesota . 



Montana. 
Nebraska 
Nevada . . 
N. Hampshire 
New Jersey. . 
New Mexico . 
New York ... 
N. Carolina . . 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania. 
Rhode Island 
S. Caroli 
T 
T 
U 

Vermont. . . 
Virginia..., 
Washington 
West Virginia 
Wisconsin 
Wyoming. 



I 



51,540 24.5 



112,920 
53,045 
155, 
103,645 

4,845 
147,700 

1,960 



60 2960.4 



54,240 
58,980 
84,290 
56,000 
35,910 
' 55,475 
81,700 
40.000 
45 420 
29,895 
9 860 
8 040 
57,430 
79,205 
46,340 
68,735 
145, 310 
76,185 
109,740 
9,005 
7,455 
122,460 
47,620 
48,580 
40,760 
94,560 
44,985 
1,085 
30,170 
41,750 
262,290 
82,190 
9,1 
40,1 
66,880 
24,645 
54,450 
97,575 



Totals... 1 2, 970, 000 



0.4 
15.1 
5.5 
1.9 
128.5 
0.9 
74.8 



5.0 
26.1 

0.4 
55.0 
55.1 
29.3 
12.2 
41.2 
20.7 
21.7 
94.8 
221.8 
28.5 

9.8 
24.4 
31.5 

0.3 

5.9 

0. 
38.5 
151.7 

1.0 
106.7 
28.8 
78.5 

1.8 
95.2 
254.9 
33.0 
36.9 

6.1 

1.7 
36.4 
37.7 

1.1 
25.1 
24.2 

0.2 



t 



1,262,505 
40,440 
802,525 
864,694 
194,327 
622,700 
135,177 
146,608 
177,( 
269,493 
1,542,180 
32,610 
3,077,871 
1,978,301 
1,624,615 
996,096 
1,648,690 
939,946 
648,336 
934,943 
1,783,085 
1,636,937 
780,773 
1,181,1 
2,168,380 
39,159 
452,402 
62,266 
346,991 
1,131,116 
119,565 
5,082,871 
1,399,750 
3,198,062 
174,768 
4,282,891 
276,531 
995,577 
1,542,359 
1,591,749 
143,963 



1,512,565 
75,116 
618,457 

1,315,497 
20,789 



996,992 26.6 
9,658 318. 7 
484,471 
560,247 



17.2 
34.8 
43.5 
30.2 
7.4 
21.1 
17.7 
36.0 
173.3 
24.8 
29.3 
3.5 
19.7 



39,864 387 
537,454 
. 14,181 
125,015 
131,700 
187,748 
1,184,109 

14,999 11 
2,539,891 
1,680,637 
1,194,020 
364,399 
1,321,011 
726,915 
626,915 
780,894 
1,457,351 
1,184,059 
439,706 
827, 
1,721,295 
20,595 

1 

42,491 
318,300 
906,096 
91,874 
4,3S2.759 
1,071,361 
2,665,260 
90,923 
3,521,951 
217,353 
705,606 
1,258,520 
818, 

86,786 
330,551 
"163 



122,993 267 



23,955 213 
442,014 ' 
1,054,670 
9,118 



65.6 
54.3 
4 

15.8 



38.2 
77.5 
36.6 
25.9 
90.1 
8 

26.5 
9.0 
24.8 
30.1 
15.9 
30.6 
19.9 
92.2 
21.6 
27.2 
41.0 
22.5 
94.4 
65.8 
0.5 
23.4 
.5 
39.9 
44.7 
127.9 



622,! 
28,202 
416,279 
518,176 
129,131 
305, 7S2 
82,296 
74,108 
83,578 
136,444 
762,981 
21,818 
1,586,523 
1,010,361 
848,136 
536,667 
832,590 
468,754 
324,058 
462,187 
858,440 



419,149 
567,177 
1,127,187 

28, 177 
249,241 

42,019 
170,r~ 
559,922 

64,496 
2,505,322 
687,908 
1,613,936 
103,381 
2,136,655 
133,030 
490,408 
769,277 
837,840 

74,509 
166,887 
745,589 

45,973 
314,4 
680,069 

14,152 



50,155,783 38,558,371 25,518,820 24,636,963 43,475,840 6,679,943 



639,876 

12,238 
386,246 
346,051 

65,196 
316,918 

52,881 

72,500 

94,046 
133,049 
779,1 

10,792 
1,491,384 
967,940 
776,479 
459,429 
816,100 
471,192 
324,878 
472,756 
924,645 
774,582 
361,f 
564,420 
1,041,193 

10,982 
203,161 

20,247 
176,465 
571,194 

55,069 
2,577,549 
711,!: " 
1,584,126 

71,387 
2,146,2 
143,501 
505,169 
773,082 
753,909 

69,454 
165,399 
766,976 

29,143 
303,t " 
635,4 

6,637 



1,252,771 
24,391 
792,175 
571,820 
154,337 
492,708 
83,382 
137,140 
160,502 
259 584 
l,53l|(316 
22,636 
2,494,295 
1,834,123 
1,362,965 
886,010 
1,589,173 
885,800 
590,053 
852,137 
1,389,594 
1,248,229 
515,097 
1,122,388 
1,956,802 
27,638 
354,988 
36,613 
300,697 
909,416 
111,514 
3,871,492 
1,396,008 

*K 

3,695,062 
202,538 
987,891 
1,525,657 
1,477,1" 
99,969 
291,327 
1,497,£ 
59,313 
600,192 
910,072 
14,r~ 



9,734 
16,049 
10,350 
292,874 
39,790 
129,992 
51,795 
9,468 
17,122 
9,909 
10,564 
9,974 
583,576 
144,178 
261,650 
110,086 
59,517 
54,186 
58,883 
82,806 
443,491 
388,508 
267,676 
9,209 
211,578 
11,521 
97,414 
25,653 
46,294 
221,700 
8,051 
,211,379 
3,742 
394,943 
30,503 
587,829 
73,993 
7,686 
16,702 
114,616 
43,994 
40,959 
14,696 
15,803 
18,265 
405,425 
5,850 



The respective ages of the entire population were, in round 
numbers, about as follows : 



Under ten years 13, 500, 000 

Between ten and twenty 10,500,000 

Between twenty and thirty 9, 200, 000 

Between thirty and forty 6,400,000 



Eighty and over 220,000 



Between forty and fifty 4,500,000 

Between fifty and sixty 3,200,000 

Between sixty and seventy 1,900,000 

Between seventy and eighty 800,000 



16 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



All one's plans of life and operations in business should be 
materially modified by his age, and especially by the probable 
future duration of his life. Nothing is more uncertain than the 
duration of the life of any particular individual, of whatever 
age ; but few things are more certain than the average life of 
a large number of individuals, of any given age, and under the 
ordinary conditions of human existence. Hence the business 
of life insurance has come to be an almost exact science. The 
figures in Table I. take in every individual of the fifty million 
residents of the United States. From them the following gen- 
eral conclusions may be deduced : 

If a person in ordinary health has reached the age of ten, 
the probabilities are about as 10 to 13 that he will reach 
twenty; if he has reached twenty, it is as 9 to 10 that he will 
attain to thirty ; if he has reached thirty, it is as 2 to 3 that 
he will live till forty ; if he has reached forty, it is also nearly 
2 to 3 that he will reach fifty; if fifty, it is nearly 3 to 4 that 
he will reach sixty. After sixty the probabilities of life dimin- 
ish with constantly increasing rapidity. A little more than 
one-half who had reached sixty attained to threescore and ten ; 
and of those who had reached seventy only a little more than 
one-fourth attained to fourscore. Of the fifty millions people 
of the United States only about 220,000 — a little more than 
one in two hundred and twenty-five — are reported as having 
overpassed their eightieth birthday. 



WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE SOUGHT. 



17 



CHAPTER III. 

WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE SOUGHT. 

THE migration of the population — that is, the removal of 
people from the place of their birth, in order to find new 
homes in some other region — is a very important element in 
the problem before us. Almost every person has occasion, at 
one time or another, to determine whether he will remain in 
the place of his birth or present residence, or will remove to 
another. Probably less than one-half of our entire population 
actually reside in the city or town in which they were born. 
A man is quite as likely to take his wife from an adjoining- 
town as from his own. Any one of a score of circumstances 
may render it advisable for a person to remove from one 
neighborhood to another. 

Where this movement is from one immediate neighborhood 
to another, with substantially the same surroundings, it cannot 
be properly styled a " migration " — by which we understand a 
removal from one country or state to another. 

There are no means of ascertaining precisely the amount of 
the movement from one to another part of the same State ; but 
the emigration from one State to another can be definitely 
ascertained. The birthplace of every individual is recorded ; 
and from the elaborate tables in the Census Report we can 
ascertain just how many persons then living were born in each 
several State, how many of them reside there, and how many 
have emigrated to another State, and also how many persons 
have immigrated to that State from each of the others. Every 
" migrant " is an emigrant from the State from which he re- 
moves, and an immigrant to that State into which he removes. 



18 THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 

The totals of the emigration and of the immigration will there- 
fore be equal. 



TABLE II.— MIGRATIONS OF NATIVE POPULATION. 



States akd Teeeitoeies. 


Resident in 
State. 


Born in 
State. 


Born and 
Resident in 
State. 


Emigration 
from State. 


Immigration 
into St.ite. 


Alabama 


1,252,771 


1.319.189 


1,014.633 


304.556 


238.138 




24,391 


9,089 


8.166 


923 


16.225 




792.175 


520,740 


436,677 


84,063 


355.498 




571.820 


355,157 


326,000 


29.157 


245,820 


Colorado . . . 


154,537 


31,827 


26,363 


5,464 


28.174 




492,703 


538.832 


398,211 


140.621 


94,492 


Dakota 


83,832 


20,640 


17.796 


2,844 


66.036 


Delaware 


137,140 


155,517 


110.643 


44.874 


26.497 




160,502 


102.428 


80,702 


21.726 


79,800 


Florida 


259,584 


194,518 


173,481 


21.037 


86,103 




1,531.616 


1,719,068 


1,395.214 


323.854 


136,402 




22.636 


7,753 


5,992 


1,761 


16.644 




2,494,295 


2,263.409 


1,709,520 


553,889 


7*4.775 




1,834.123 


1,798.480 


1,354.505 


443,915 


479,558 




1,362,965 


954.695 


737,306 


217.389 


625.659 




886,010 


279.151 


233.066 


46,085 


652.944 




1,589,173 


1,856.310 


1,402,112 


454,198 


187.061 




885,800 


817,492 


728.322 


89.170 


157,478 




590.053 


745,272 


563,015 


182.257 


27,038 


Maryland 


852,137 


958,141 


7112.641 


195,500 


89.496 




1.339,594 


1,356.295 


1,088.565 


267,730 


256,029 




1,248,429 


920,661 


803.306 


177.355 


445,123 




513,097 


341,750 


302,371 


39.379 


210.726 




1.122,388 


1.056.993 


863.1*5 


193.808 


359.203 




1,956,802 


1,567.2S4 


1,288.641 


298,643 


688,161 




27,638 


8,687 


7,225 


1,462 


20,413 




354,988 


113,478 


95.790 


17,688 


259.198 




36,613 


18,256 


13. 732 


4.524 


22,881 




300,697 


371.2(12 


242.757 


128,505 


57,940 




909,416 


906,205 


725.614 


180,591 


183,802 




111 K~iA 
111, 014 


1 1 Q ~*<Q 


1 01 f\if< 


1 -L. i^t-t 


lU,40o 




3,871,492 


4, 753,547 


3,556^394 


1,197,153 


315,098 




1,396.008 


1,638.058 


1,344,553 


293.505 


51.455 


Ohio 


2,803,119 


3,302,656 


2,361,437 


941.219 


441,682 




144.265 


81,608 


67,942 


13.666 


76,323 




3,695.062 


4,184,180 


3,385.693 


798,487 


309.369 




202,538 


201,722 


152,487 


49.235 


50,051 




987,891 


1,183,311 


952.395 


230,916 


35,496 




1,525,657 


1,787,504 


1,313.552 


473.952 


212,105 




1,477,133 


915,020 


870,705 


44,315 


606.428 


Utah 


99,969 


92,130 


81,716 


10.414 


18,253 




291,327 


438,041 


251,780 


186,261 


39,547 




1,497.869 


2,118,460 


1,435,124- 


683,336 


62,745 




59.313 


22,425 


19.359 


3,066 


39,954 




600,192 


440.213 


397.267 


42,946 


202.925 


Wisconsin 


910,072 


893,945 


693,177 


200,766 


216.895 




14,939 


4,091 


2,299 


1,792 


12.740 



Table II. embodies the most important results of the elab- 
orate tables contained in the Census Report, so far as the 
native-born residents are concerned. Column i gives the num- 
ber of persons born in the United States residing in each of 



WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE SOUGHT. 



19 



the respective States. Column 2 gives the number born in a 
certain State, but residing in other parts of the Union. Col- 
umn 3 gives the number born in a State and actually residing 
there. By subtracting the figures in column 3 from those in 
column 1 we find the number (as shown in column 5) who 
have immigrated to the State named, as, of course, every resi- 
dent not born there must have come from another State. So, 
too, by subtracting the figures in column 3 from those in col- 
umn 2 we find the number (as shown in column 4) who have 
emigrated, because every person born in a certain State, but not 
residing there, must have removed from the State of his birth. 

It will be seen that about one-fourth of the native population 
of the United States have emigrated from the various States in 
which they were born. Now, every person who migrates does 
so with the hope of improving his condition in some respect. 
If we find that very many more people leave a State than come 
into it, it is evident the general judgment is, that they may do 
better elsewhere. If many more people migrate to a State 
than from it, it is a strong argument in favor of the superior 
advantages of that State. If the emigration and the immigra- 
tion nearly balance each other, it is a pretty sure indication 
that the advantages and disadvantages are, upon the whole, 
about equal, as compared with other States. 

In designating any State or section as emigrating or immi- 
grating regard must be had to the ratio which these two move- 
ments bear to each other. In some States these movements are 
very nearly equal. For example, New Jersey has sent 181,000 
persons to other States, while she has received 185,000. Of the 
181,000 who have emigrated, 47,000 have gone to New York, 
45,000 to Pennsylvania, 14,000 to Illinois, 10,000 to Ohio, and 
so on in less numbers to every State in the Union. 

Of living persons born in New York — 1,197,000 — one-fourth 
of the whole have gone to other States: 230,000 to Michigan, 
120,000 to Illinois, 100,000 to Pennsylvania, 95,000 to New Jer- 
sey, 86,000 to Wisconsin, 82,000 to Iowa, 64,000 to Ohio, 47,000 
to Minnesota, 44,000 to California, 43,000 to Kansas, 39,000 to 
Connecticut, 36,000 to Massachusetts, while barely 30,000 have 



20 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



gone to the eleven Southern States. From other States New 
York has received 315,000 persons, of whom 56,000 were from 
Pennsylvania, 47,000 from New Jersey, 43,000 from Massachu- 
setts, 39,000 from Connecticut, 31,000 from Vermont, and barely 
25,000 from the eleven Southern States, half of whom are from 
Virginia. 

Of those born in the six New England States, 950,000 — one- 
fourth of the whole — do not reside in the State in which they 
were born. But these States form in most respects a homoge- 
neous section, presenting few differences in soil, climate, produc- 
tions, and industries ; and the very considerable intermigration 
between these States should be considered as an interchange 
of population rather than emigration. The main current of 
true emigration from New England runs a little south of west, 
through New York and Michigan, to Illinois and Iowa ; then 
bends north-westward to Wisconsin and Minnesota. The emi- 
gration from New York takes the same general course. 

Southern emigration presents two strongly-marked currents, 
one a little to the north or west, the other to the south-west. 
Thus, Virginia and North Carolina have sent out 875,000 emi- 
grants, of whom nearly 140,000 halted in West Virginia, and 
more than 300,000 pressed westward through Kentucky, Ohio, 
Indiana, and Kansas. About 360,000 went south-westward, 
through Tennessee and Arkansas, to Texas, branching off south- 
ward to Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. 

As there is a strong westward current of emigration from 
the more easterly of the Western States, so there is a like 
southward current from the more northern of the Southern 
States. Ohio sends a strong current of emigration to Indiana, 
and Indiana to Illinois ; Tennessee to Arkansas, and Arkansas 
to Alabama. And to all these great flood -tides of migration 
there is no returning ebb-flow : no current of emigration east- 
ward from the far West, none northward from the far South. 

The most obvious inference to be drawn from this migra- 
tion of population is : when there is a strong and continuous 
flow in any direction, it is most probable (if there be no special 
objection, such as an unhealthy climate and the like) that this 



WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE SOUGHT. 



21 



is a safe direction for one to follow who has it in mind to seek 
a new home. 

But it by no means results that one should of necessity fol- 
low the tracks of migration already worn. It may be, and most 
probably is, the case that there are quite different localities 
whose claims have, for one reason or another, been overlooked, 
or whose advantages have hitherto been overbalanced by dis- 
advantages which have already ceased to exist, or are now 
passing away. 

For example, very few emigrants have heretofore been at- 
tracted to the South from the Northern States or from Europe. 
Of the main underlying cause for this there is no question. 
That cause has ceased to exist, and it is safe to predict that no 
long period will elapse before numerous emigrants from the 
North and the East and from Europe will make their homes in 
Virginia and Tennessee, in Georgia and Texas, as well as in 
Illinois and Iowa, in Kansas and Wisconsin. While it may be 
assumed that all the regions to which emigration strongly tends 
are good ones, it does not follow that they are the best ones. 
The wise person who contemplates emigration will inquire 
whether there are not new fields for him even better than the 
older ones. Our country is so vast that we have only begun 
to learn its capabilities for the enterprising and industrious. 

There is no returning flow of emigration from America to 
Europe to offset the tide of immigration from Europe to 
America. Only a few thousand natives of the United States 
have sought homes in Europe, while more than six and a half 
millions of Europeans have found homes in the United States. 
The distribution of this population of foreign birth presents 
some points of interest. In several of the larger States it 
constitutes a very considerable percentage of the whole. In 
California and Wisconsin about one-third of the population are 
of foreign birth ; in New York, nearly one-fourth ; in Illinois, 
one-fifth ; in the New England States and Iowa, one-sixth ; in 
Pennsylvania, one-eighth. In Texas and Louisiana together it 
is one-fifteenth. In the nine other Southern States, with a 
population of 10,500,000, there are only about 90,000 — one in 



22 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



one hundred and fifteen — persons of foreign birth. New York 
has more Irishmen than any city of Ireland, except Dublin ; 
there are only six cities in Germany which have more Germans 
than New York. 

In certain respects the opportunities for success can best be 
studied in cities and large towns. The wages paid for any 
given kind of industry have a strong tendency towards uni- 
formity. Few mechanics or operatives, except in instances of 
special skill, receive much more, and few much less, than the 
general average of their fellow-craftsmen in cities. The amount 
of capital invested in any department of industry, the cost of 
raw material, and the amount of wages paid, can be very nearly 
ascertained ; and thus some sure steps can be taken towards 
the solution of those great social and economic problems of the 
day which bear upon success in life. 

There is a tendency in some of the States for people to 
mass together in cities. This tendency manifests itself most 
strongly in the older and more densely peopled sections of 
the country. In several States the increase of population dur- 
ing the last ten years has been mainly confined to a few of 
the larger cities, while the rural population has been almost 
stationary. 

In the State of New York the increase between 1870 and 
1880 was about 700,000, or sixteen per cent.; of this increase 
592,000 was in the seven cities each having more than 50,000 
inhabitants, while the population of the remainder of the State 
increased only half as much as the city of New York has done. 
Of the sixty counties, only the seven which contain those large 
cities show any marked increase, while in eight counties there 
was a slight decrease. 

In Massachusetts the increase between 1870 and 1880 was 
336,000, or 22 per cent.; of this increase three-fourths was in 
Boston and the thirteen cities each having more than 20,000 
inhabitants. In Connecticut the increase was 85,000 — 17 per 
cent. — of which more than one-half was in the thirteen cities 
having each a population of more than 15,000. In New Jersey 
the increase was 225,000, or 25 per cent., of which 175,000 was 



WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE SOUGHT. 



23 



in the seven cities having more than 2^,000 inhabitants. In 
Pennsylvania the increase was 760,000, or 22 per cent., of which 
nearly one-half was in Philadelphia and ten other cities, each 
having a population of more than 25,000. 

Taking into account that, besides these fifty large cities, 
there are in these nine States fully sixty other cities with a pop- 
ulation of more than 10,000 each, it appears that the rural pop- 
ulation of the manufacturing section of the country is almost 
stationary, the increase being in the urban population. 

In the South the ratio of increase between the dwellers in 
the country and those in towns was very different. In Georgia 
the total increase was 358,000, or 30 per cent., of which only 
29,000 was in the five cities having more than 10,000 inhabi- 
tants. In Kentucky the increase was 227,000, or 25 per cent., 
only 33,000 being in the three cities with a population of more 
than 20,000. In Tennessee, out of an increase of 284,000, or 
23 per cent., there was 18,000 in the three cities having more 
than 10,000 inhabitants. In Texas the increase was 773,000, 
or 94 per cent., the three cities having each more than 10,000 
inhabitants, gaining only 41,000. In Virginia the increase was 
287,000, or 23 per cent., of which 26,000 was in the six cities 
having more than 10,000 inhabitants. One of the most char- 
acteristic features of social life in all of the Southern States is 
the strong preference of the people for country life, and the 
disinclination to a^o-reo-ate themselves in larQ-e towns. In all 
the Southern States, New Orleans, Richmond, and Charleston 
are the only cities with a population of more than 40,000. 

The Western and Xorth-western States occupy, in this re- 
spect, a position midway between those of the South and those 
of the North-east. In Illinois the increase between 1870 and 
1880 was 583.000, or 21 per cent., of which 236,000 was in 
Chicago and the ten other cities having a population of more 
than 10,000. In Indiana the increase was 298,000, or 18 per 
cent., of which 69,000 was in the nine cities with more than 
10,000 inhabitants. In Michigan the increase was 452,000, or 
38 per cent., of which 87,000 was in the seven cities with more 
than 10,000 inhabitants. In Missouri the increase was 447,000., 



24 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



or 26 per cent., of which 77,000 was in St. Louis and the three 
other cities with a population of more than 10,000. In Ohio 
the increase was 538,000, or 20 per cent., of which 197,000 was 
in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and the fifteen other cities having 
more than 10,000 inhabitants. 

Taking the entire United States together, the population 
residing in cities and towns of more than 8000 inhabitants 
increases in a greater ratio than the rural population. This 
is not owing to the natural increase, but to removals from the 
country to cities. In 1800 one twenty-fifth of the entire popu- 
lation lived in 6 such cities; in 18 10, one-twentieth in 11 cities; 
in 1820, one-twentieth in 13 cities; in 1830, one-sixteenth in 
26 cities; in 1840, one-twelfth in 44 cities; in 1850, one-eighth 
in 85 cities; in i860, one-sixth in 141 cities; in 1870, a little 
more than one-fifth in 226 cities; in 1880, a little less than 
one-fourth in 286 cities. 

In 1880 the urban population numbered 11,387,000, being 
22.5 per cent, of the whole. There were in that year four cities 
with a population of more than 500,000 ; five with between 
200,000 and 500,000; ten with between 100,000 and 200,000; 
sixteen with between 50,000 and 100,000; forty-one with be- 
tween 25,000 and 50,000; two hundred and ten with between 
8000 and 25,000. 

The distribution of the population into families, and the 
number of families occupying a single dwelling, is important in 
many respects, especially as bearing upon health. According 
to the Census Report of 1880 there were in the United States 
9,945,916 families, averaging 5.4 individuals to each. There 
were 8,955,812 dwellings, averaging 5.60 occupants to each. 
Thus, in the great majority of cases a single family occupied 
a dwelling. But in some entire States the proportion was 
much less. Thus, in New York 772,512 dwellings were occu- 
pied by 1,078,905 families, being 6.58 persons to a dwelling. 
In Massachusetts 281,188 dwellings were occupied by 379,710 
families, being 6.34 persons to a dwelling. In Rhode Island 
there were 41,388 dwellings and 60,259 families, or 6.68 per- 
sons to a dwelling. 



WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE SOUGHT. 



25 



In most large cities and manufacturing towns the dispro- 
portion between the number of families and dwellings is very 
apparent. In Philadelphia there were 146,412 dwellings and 
165,044 families, being 5.79 persons to a dwelling. In Brook- 
lyn, 62,233 dwellings and 115,076 families, being 9.1 1 persons 
to a dwelling. In Chicago, 61,069 dwellings and 96,992 fam- 
ilies, being 8.24 persons to a dwelling. In Lowell, 8245 dwell- 
ings and 11,439 families, being 7.21 persons to a dwelling. In 
Lawrence, 4608 dwellings and 7488 families, being 8.50 per- 
sons to a dwelling. In the city of New York this disproportion 
is greater than anywhere else: here there were 73,684 dwell- 
ings and 243,157 families, being 16.37 persons to a dwelling. 
But here an apartment-house or tenement-house is regarded as 
a single dwelling, no matter how great its size. 

It has been said by some that the occupancy of a dwelling 
by more than one family is prejudicial to health. If that were 
so the number of persons to a family would be notably below 
the general average of 5.4 ; for the number of deaths to a 
family would, as a rule, be greater, and so the number of living 
members smaller. In those cities where a considerable number 
of families are crowded together in large " tenement-houses " 
this is certainly the case. Thus, in New York there are 4.97 
persons to a family ; in Brooklyn, 4.92 ; in Boston, 4.99 ; in 
Cincinnati, 4.90. But the rule, in this respect, as to cities and 
manufacturing towns in general is rather the reverse, the num- 
ber of persons to a family being usually above the general 
average. Thus, in Philadelphia there are 5.13 persons to a 
family; in Chicago, 5.19; in St. Louis, 5.38; in Pittsburg, 5.24; 
in Lowell, 5.20; in Lawrence, 5.23. 

The mere fact that several families occupy a single " dwell- 
ing" — that is, are covered by a single roof — seems to have in 
itself no bearing upon the question of health, That rests upon 
quite different grounds. 



26 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE OCCUPATIONS WE FOLLOW. 

EVERY human being must live by labor, performed by 
himself or by some other person for him, or by both. 
The child lives by the labor of his parents ; the person who has 
inherited wealth, by the labor of those from whom he has inher- 
ited it. The employer lives partly by his own immediate labor 
in managing his business, and partly by a share in the products 
of the labor of his employes. The pauper is supported by the 
conjoint labor of the rest of the community ; the thief or the 
swindler, by the labor of those upon whom he preys. 

To this general law there is no exception. Excepting the 
air he breathes, Nature gives to man nothing which he can 
make available to supply his wants unless he works for it. The 
aborigines of Australia and the "Digger" Indians of our Pacific 
coast, who live upon roots, berries, nuts, and shell-fish, must dig 
their roots, pick their berries and nuts, gather their crawfish, 
and perhaps build a fire and cook their food before they can eat 
it. Every article of clothing, of comfort, and adornment is the 
direct product of labor. The rudest shelter from the weather 
requires labor ; caves and holes in the rocks demand and receive 
some labor in order to make them habitable even by the rudest 
savage. 

To ascertain the direction in which this labor is turned, the 
various avocations in which it is employed, with the number of 
persons who are busied in each avocation, the value of the prod- 
ucts, and, as nearly as may be, the average amount of the earn- 
ings of each person employed, is a matter of prime importance. 
Among the things to be considered are the total amount of the 



THE OCCUPATIONS WE FOLLOW. 



27 



products of each of the chief branches of industry ; the amount 
of capital required to carry it on ; the cost of the raw material, 
and of the labor expended upon it. Of the highest importance 
also is a knowledge of the localities best suited to the several 
occupations ; of the climate, soil, and principal productions as 
they are now or may be made to be ; the condition of society, 
social, moral, and educational. When a person has acquired a 
fair knowledge upon these points, he will be in a condition to 
judge whether any other location is better adapted to his capac- 
ities and inclinations than the one where he now resides. 

The census of the United States undertakes to give, not 
only the total number of persons engaged in all lawful and gain- 
ful occupations, but also the number in nearly four hundred 
special branches, giving the age and sex, the State and county 
in which each resides. This information is amplified and de- 
tailed under each general department, so as to include full sta- 
tistics as to the capital employed in each industry, the value of 
its products, the cost of raw material and labor, thus to a good 
degree indicating the entire cost of production, and the result- 
ing amount of profit. 

Those engaged in any of these occupations constitute the 
k ' producing classes ;" those not so engaged, the " non-producing 
classes." The producing classes, as enumerated in the census, 
include only a part of the entire population. The principal 
classes not included are: i. All children below the as;e of ten 
years. 2. A majority of females above that age who live at 
home, without having special employment * from which they de- 
rive an income. 3. Males beyond the age of sixteen who are 
pursuing courses of study, or are prevented by age or by per- 
manent mental or physical infirmity from engaging in any in- 
dustrial occupation. 4. Paupers and criminals. 5. All persons 
whose means of livelihood are, in the general judgment of man- 
kind, criminal or disreputable. 

The "industrial classes," thus limited, number 17,392,099, 
being 34.68 per cent, of the entire population, and 47.31 per 
cent, of those of ten years and upward. The census groups 
them into four grand divisions : 



28 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



I. Agriculture. — This includes not only farmers, planters, 
and agricultural laborers, but also dairymen, gardeners, vine- 
growers, and raisers and herders of live-stock. 

II. Professional and Personal Services. — This includes 
not only clergymen, lawyers, physicians, teachers, artists, etc., 
and domestic servants, but also more than forty other avoca- 
tions, among which are soldiers and sailors, those in the em- 
ployment of the general, State, or municipal governments ; bar- 
bers, hotel-keepers, and all laborers not specially included in one 
of the other grand divisions. 

III. Trade and Transportation. — This includes merchants, 
traders, and bankers ; clerks, salesmen, commercial travellers, and 
accountants in stores ; saloon-keepers and bar-tenders ; draymen 
and teamsters ; officers and employes of railroad, telegraph, ex- 
press, and transportation companies, etc. 

IV. Manufacturing, Mechanical, and Mining. — This in- 
cludes in all more than two hundred distinct industries and 
occupations. The Fishing Industry is also included in the di- 
vision of Manufactures. 

Table III. gives a condensed summary of these four grand 
industrial divisions, with the number of persons engaged in each 
of them, and their respective ages and sex : 



table iil— industrial occupations. 



Classes. 


Persons Occupied. 


Age and Sex. 


All Ages. 


10 to 15. 


16 to 59. 


60 and over. 


Male. 


Female. 


Male. 


Female. 


Male. 


Female. 


Male. 


Female. 


Agricultural 

Professional and) 
personal services) 
Trade and trans-\ 

Manufacturing, ) 
mechanical, and V 
mining- ) 


7,670,493 
4,074,238 

1,810,256 
3,837,112 


7,075,983 
2,712,943 

1,750,892 
3,205,124 


594,510 
1,361,295 

59,364 
631,988 


584,867 
127,565 

26,078 
86,677 


135,862 
107,830 

2,547 
46,930 


5,888,133 
2,446,962 

1,672,171 
2,978,845 


435,920 
1,215,189 

54,849 
577,157 


602,983 
138,416 

52,643 
139,602 


22,728 
38,276 

1,968 
7,901 


Totals........ 


17,392,099 


14,744,942 


2,647, 157|S25,187 


293,169 


12,986,111 


2,283,115 


933,644 


70,873 



In this table 32,763,684 of the inhabitants of the United 
States — 65.32 per cent, of the entire population — are not ac- 



THE OCCUPATIONS WE FOLLOW. 



29 



counted for as having any industrial occupation. Of these 
non-producers 13,394,076 — 18.01 per cent. — were below the 
age of ten. There still remain 36,761,607 above that age, of 
whom 19,369,508 (15,378,470 females, and 3,991,038 males), or 
52.69 per cent., are not reckoned among those constituting the 
producing classes. Of those not accounted for, 5,531,127, of 
both sexes, are between ten and fifteen : this number approxi- 
mates very closely to the number of children attending school, 
who do not pursue any gainful occupation during any consid- 
erable portion of the year. 

Between sixteen and fifty-nine there were 13,907,444 males, 
of whom 991,333 are not accounted for. This number consists 
principally of students in colleges, of those mentally or physi- 
cally disabled for labor, and of criminals and paupers. Of the 
13,377,002 females of this age, 11,093,887 are not set down as 
having any industrial occupation. A very considerable portion 
of these, however, do not really belong to the non-producing 
class. They are the wives and grown-up daughters of farmers, 
mechanics, traders, and other producers, and are to a very great 
extent busied in household and domestic labors, and are as 
really producers as though they received direct wages. 

Taking the entire data furnished in the Census Tables, it 
appears that nearly two-thirds (65.32 per cent.) of the popula- 
tion are supported by the labor of a little more (34.68 per cent.) 
than one-third — that is, taking the workers of every age and 
occupation together, each one supports, upon an average, not 
only himself or herself, but nearly two other persons. But 
there are considerable numbers the products of whose labor is 
barely sufficient for their own maintenance, and w r ho do nothing 
towards the support of others. Of the more than a million of 
workers below the age of sixteen, probably a majority do not 
fully support themselves. Probably only a minority of those 
under twenty earn more than enough to maintain themselves. 
Leaving all these out of view, it may be fairly assumed that, of 
the workers who do more than maintain themselves, each, upon 
an average, supports himself and three others. 

But the members of the industrial class produce more than 



30 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



enough for their own support and for that of those dependent 
upon them, including the pauper and criminal classes. This 
overplus appears in the shape of the increased wealth of the 
general community. This increase in wealth is the result of 
labor, bestowed, directly or indirectly, upon the object itself. 
The increased value of a farm arises either from the labor 
bestowed upon it or from its being made more accessible to a 
market by improved modes of communication, etc., or from 
both causes. But railroads and other means of communication 
are the products of labor ; for " capital " is only another form 
of expression for the accumulated excess of the products of 
labor over the consumption of those products. For the present 
purpose it does not matter that these accumulations, to a very 
great extent come into the hands of a comparatively small por- 
tion of the producers — mainly those who by superior enterprise 
or skill — perhaps good-fortune — have, been enabled to become 
employers, and thus have rightly earned a share in the products 
of the labor of their employes. The proper adjustment of the 
relative shares of these two classes of producers is the great 
problem which civilization has to solve; and every well-con- 
sidered attempt to point out the directions in which, and the 
modes by which, labor can be more and more advantageously 
employed, will contribute something towards the solution of 
this problem. 

The actual amount of the increase in the values of the 
various products of industry in the several States is shown in 
the chapters which treat specially of these industries. The fol- 
lowing summation of the "assessed valuation" in 1870 and 1880 
serves rather for the purpose of a general comparison between 
these two periods, than as showing the actual value of the real 
and personal property in the United States, since for purposes 
of taxation property is almost invariably assessed at much be- 
low its real buying and selling value. Moreover, in 1870 the 
assessed valuation was expressed in currency, while gold was 
at an average premium of 25.3 per cent. To render the com- 
parison accurate, the reported values for 1870 should (as sug- 
gested by the Superintendent of the Census) be reduced to the 



THE OCCUPATIONS WE FOLLOW. 



31 



gold standard — that is, one-fifth should be deducted from the 
values given in the Census of 1870. This will be done in this 
volume whenever such a comparison is instituted. 



TABLE IV.— ASSESSED VALUATION, 1880, 1870. 





Real Estate. 


Personal Property. 


Total. 


1880 


$13,036,776,925 


$3,866,226,618 


$16,902,993,543 


1870 . . . 


9,914,780,825 


4,264,205,907 


14,178,986,732 




Inc., $3,121,996,100 


Bee, $397,979,289 


Inc., $2,724,006,811 



But, reducing the total valuation for 1870 to gold, the true 
valuation for that year would be $11,343,187,396; and the real 
increase from 1870 to 1880 was $5,559,606,147. If the entire 
wealth of the country had been equally divided in 1870 among 
the population each would have received about $295 in gold. 
If it had been so divided in 1880 each would have received 
about $340. Or, to put the matter in another shape, if the 
increase of wealth in 1880 were divided among the whole re- 
ported industrial population there would be about $320 for 
each of them — that is, each working man, woman, and child 
has earned, upon an average, $32 a year above what has been 
required for their own maintenance and that of those right- 
fully dependent upon them, and for the support of paupers and 
criminals. 



32 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER V. 

FARMS AND FARM AREAS. 

THE Census Report of 1880 shows that forty-four per cent, 
of all the persons pursuing any gainful occupation were 
engaged in agriculture in some of its departments. The ratio 
for the whole population is probably about the same, since the 
number of children and other non-producers is nearly alike in 
all the industrial classes. It is impossible to institute a com- 
parison in this respect between the Censuses of 1880 and 1870, 
because a somewhat different mode of classification was adopted. 

There is every reason to anticipate that the proportion of 
agriculturists to persons engaged in other employments will in- 
crease in the future. New labor-saving machinery is being con- 
stantly introduced, by means of which one factory operative or 
mechanic is able to do the work which formerly required the 
labor of many persons ; hence a smaller proportion of hands is 
required to supply the demand for manufactured articles ; and, 
although the cheapening of such productions largely increases 
the demand for them, it does not proportionally increase the 
number of workmen. And, moreover, a much larger proportion 
than formerly of emigrants engage in agriculture. Labor-saving 
machinery is, indeed, largely and increasingly introduced into 
agriculture, but not to the same relative extent as into manu- 
factures. A few years ago the majority of emigrants from 
Europe remained in and about the cities ; now more than half 
of them make no stay at the ports where they land, but go at 
once to the West, and become farmers or farm laborers. Be- 
sides all this, in most manufactures we have to compete in our 
own markets with Europe. In the products of agriculture we 



r 





PLOUGHING AND HARROWING IN DAKOTA. 
See Note 2. 



FARMS AND FARM AREAS. 



35 



can have no rivals in our own markets, and we can outrival 
Europeans in their markets. Nothing can be more certain, for 
example, than that as England has been, and must be, dependent 
upon us for cotton, so she must, to a very considerable extent, 
be dependent upon us for breadstuffs and meat. 

While, therefore, we must remain a great manufacturing 
nation, we shall undoubtedly become more pre-eminently an 
agricultural people, so long as lands open to culture are abun- 
dant and cheap. Farming, in its various modifications, demands 
the foremost place in our investigations into the subject of 
profitable employments. The term "farm," as used in the 
Census Report, is thus defined : 

" A farm is what is owned or leased by one man and cultivated under his 
care. A distant wood-lot or sheep-pasture, even if in another subdivision, is 
treated as a part of the farm ; but whenever there is a resident overseer or 
manager, there a farm is reported. Farms include all considerable nurseries, 
orchards, and market-gardens which are owned by separate parties, which are 
cultivated for pecuniary profit, and employ as much as the labor of one able- 
bodied man during the year. Mere cabbage and potato patches, family vege- 
table gardens, and ornamental lawns, not constituting a portion of a farm for 
general agricultural purposes, are excluded." 

Table V. shows the number of farms in each of the States in 
1880, their acreage and value, value including buildings; the per- 
centage of increase in value since 1870; the value of farm im- 
plements and machinery ; and the total value of farm products 
in 1879. The United States contain (exclusive of Alaska) about 
1,900,000,000 acres of land- surface. How great a portion of 
this is capable of profitable cultivation is not accurately deter- 
mined, but enough is known to show that the area of land inca- 
pable of cultivation is much less than was formerly supposed. 
None of our territory lies to the north of the zone of tillage ; 
and the " great deserts " marked even upon quite recent maps 
are at most of comparatively limited extent. Immense tracts 
formerly supposed to be hopelessly arid and barren are now 
proved to be capable of being rendered highly fertile by means 
of proper irrigation, which can be supplied at a cost so moderate 
that the outlay will be amply repaid. 

3 



36 THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



TABLE V.— FARMS: ACREAGE AND VALUES. 



STATES. 


Land Surface 


Number 


Improved 


Value of Farms. 


Value of 


Per Ct. of 


Value of 


of the U. S. 


of Farms. 


Land. 


Implements. 


Increase. 


Products, 1S79. 




Acres. 




Acres. 


Dollars. 


Dollars. 




Dollars. 




OO A O *" f* A A 

32,98o,600 


135,864 


6,375,706 


Ho A X A £i A O 

7o,yo4,b4o 


3,788,978 


25.09 


56,872,994 


Arizona. 


h 0/2 QAA 

7,22b,o00 


ha h 
767 


56,071 


1,127,946 


88,811 


283.01 


614,327 


Ark. . . . 


OO A .4 O O A A 

3o,94o,i300 


94,433 


o kak a ao 

o,oyo,b0o 


H A O/in l± x x 

/4,24y,boo 


4,637,497 


93.33 


43,796,261 


Cal 


fin QO^T QAA 

yy, o/ /,2oo 


35,934 


io,bby,byy 


0£0 AX1 OQO 

2b2,Oo 1,262 


O A A H H A A 

6,44 / , 744 


71.05 


59,721,425 


Col 


C(i OCQ QAA 

bb, 2bo,o00 


4,506 


a i a i an 

blb,lby 


O X 1 AO OOO 

2o,10y,22o 


910,085 


544.06 


5,035,228 


Conn. . . 


O 1 AA QAA 

o,100,o00 

HO XOQ AAA 

yo, 0^0,000 


30,598 
17,435 


1 n 4 o T O O 

1,642,188 
1,150,413 

h A a nxo 

74b, yoo 


TOT AfO A 1 A 

12i,0bo,yi0 

QO ^Al AO 1 

22,401,064 


O T £ O POO 

3,162,628 




18,010,075 
5,648,814 


Dakota. 


O O A A AO 1 

2,o90,0yi 


259.76 


Del 


1 O X A A AA 

1,204,400 


8,794 


ob, /oy,b /2 


1,504,576 


6.99 


6,320,345 


D. of C. . 


38,400 


435 


12,632 


O AOO /(AO 

o,bo2,40o 


36,798 


52.82 


514,441 


Florida . 


OA hi O AAA 

34, / lo,b00 


23,483 


947,640 


oa om oo x 
20,2yi,ooO 


fl o n fl z? r* 

689,666 


28.72 


H A o a o a o 

7,439,392 


Georgia, 


OH H A H OAA 

6 /, /4 /,200 


TOO £ O 

136, b2b 


O O A A HO A 

0,204,7 20 


111 ATA X A t~\ 

iii,yio,o40 


5,317,416 


20.09 


f* H AOO AOA 

6 <,02b, 929 


Idaho . . 


K O CIA X. £. AA 

oo,y4o,boo 


1,885 


197,407 


O Q o o o n A 

2,oo2,oyo 


O fl O AOA 

ob3,930 


64.20 


1,515,314 


Illinois. . 


OK Q A A AAA 

do, 640,000 


255,741 


c\ f lip; ~\ x A 

2b,lio,lo4 


1 AAA Xf\ i KQA 

i,ooy,oy4,ooo 


OO HOA "fil 

33,739,o91 


35.10 


OAO AOA TO"" 

203,980,13/ 


Indiana. 


o o noo a c\i \ 

22,962,400 


194,013 


TO AOO H O o 

13,933,7o8 


£ o x o « » fl tit 

boo,2ob,lll 


OA /(h/? AOO 

20,476,988 


37.89 


1 T 4 r-AH AOO 

114, /0/, 082 


Iowa . . . 


Q X X A A AAA 

00,004,000 


185,351 


1 A OPf* X A ~\ 

19,obb,o41 


K £ *7 A Of\ oo k 

5b7,4oO,22 ( 


OA OHT OOA 

29,3 / l,oo4 


111.42 


TO/ 1 TAO 4 *~0 

136,103,4/3 


Kansas . 


K O OOO AAA 

52, zoo, 000 


138,561 


T A H O A X £* f* 

10,739, o6b 


OOX "1HO HOC 

235,1 /o,yob 


15,652,848 


444.03 


tr O O 4 t\ OAT 

02,240,301 


Ky 


25,600,000 


166,453 


10,731,683 


299,298,631 


9,734,634 


32.42 


63,850,155 




29,068,800 


48,292 


2,739,972 


prO AOA 1 1 r 

5o,9oy,i 1 / 


5,435,525 


33.94 


A O OOO w O O 

42,b8o,o22 


Maine . . 


i a TOO OAT \ 

19,lo2,600 


64,309 


O A O 4 A AO 

3,484,908 


102,357,615 


A A i O A A O 

4,948,048 


19.43 


OT A 1 w / AA 

21,94o.4S9 




C Ol C\ A AA 

0, 010,400 


40,517 


O OHO hAA 

o,o42, /00 


i X A O Oil 

Ibo,o0d,o41 


5,788,197 


14.71 


OO OOA OOT 

2o,o3y,281 


Mass.. . . 


K 1 A X d AA 

5,14o,o00 


38,406 


O TOO ■ > 1 1 

2, 128, oil 


1 A {* T A *~ A 1 X 

14b, 19 /,41o 


5,134,537 


22.58 


Ck A 1/*AOOT 

24,160,881 


Mich.. . . 


O/? H sr x OAA 

36, / oo,200 


154,008 


8,296,862 


A (\r\ 1 AO TOT 

499,103,1S1 


TA A A C\ O P A 

19,419,360 


62.78 


ai T^-AO^O 

91,lo9,8o8 


Minn. . . 


K A CO! OAA 

oO, bo 1,200 


92,386 


H O £ A AO 

7,24b, b9o 


TAO HO/I QAA 

193,724,2bO 


TO AOA HOO 

13,0b9, /83 


212.07 


A C\ A /-* O AXT 

49,4bo,9ol 


Miss. . . . 


o a fl kH a a a 

29, bo /,b00 


101,772 


C m P A O H 

5,216,93 / 


92,844,915 


4,885,636 


23.94 


flOHAT O 4 4 

63, / 01,844 




A O AAA A AA 

4o,yyo,4oo 


215,575 


T A H 4 fc* Aoi 

16,74o,0ol 


ohx poo Of\h 


1 O 1 AO f\h A 

18,10o,0 /4 


84.48 


A X ni O / ' O A 

9o,yi2,bbO 


Montana 


AO n^O A A A 

y2,y < o,4oo 


1,519 


262,611 


O O O 4 X A 1 

o,234,o<>4 


401,185 


210.14 


O AO 4 AO') 


Neb. . . . 


46,758,400 


63,387 


5,504,702 


T A AOO " < 1 

105,932,541 


7,820,917 


750.76 


O T H AO A T 4 

31,708,914 


Nevada . 


H A OOO / ' A A 

70,233, bOO 


1,404 


344,423 


5,408,325 


378,788 


271.76 


2,855,449 


N. H.. . . 


K Hfl O OAA 

5,763,200 
4,771,200 

HO Oh 4 AAA 

78,374,000 


32,181 
34,307 


O O AO T T O 

2,308,112 
2,096,297 
237,392 


f— *£ OO A OOA 

7o, 834,389 
190,895,833 


O A /"* A O 4 A 

o,0b9,240 
6,921,085 




TO A H 1 OOA 

13,4 /4,3o0 


N. J. . . . 


6.06 


29,650,756 


N. Mex.. 


5,053 


5,514,399 


255,162 


66. 


1,897,974 


N. Y.. . . 


30,476,800 


241,058 


17,717,862 


1,056,176,741 


42,592,741 


13.37 


17S,025,695 


N. C. . . . 


30,991,200 


157,609 


6,481,191 


135,793,602 


6,078,476 


23.24 


51,729,611 


Ohio . . . 


26,086,400 


247,189 


18,081,091 


1,127,497,353 


30,521,180 


24.96 


156,777,152 


Oregon . 


60,518,400 


16,217 


2,198,645 


56,908,575 


2*,956,173 


96.96 


13.234,54S 


Penn. . . 


28,780'400 


213^542 


13^423^007 


975^689^410 


35,473'037 


16.56 


129,760,476 


R. I. . 


694 400 


6 216 


90S 4S6 


95 88° 079 


902,825 


3.27 


3 670 135 


s."c. '. '. '. 


19,30s's00 


93^864 


4,132,050 


68,677,482 


3,202,710 


37^25 


41 '969,749 


Tenn. . . 


26,720,000 


165,650 


8,496,556 


206,749,837 


9,054,863 


24.01 


62,076,311 


Texas . . 


166,865,600 


174,184 


12,650,314 


170,468,886 


9,051,491 


326.67 


65,204,329 


Utah. . . 


52,601,600 


9,452 


416,105 


14,015,178 


946,753 


250.38 


3,337,410 


Vt 


5,846,400 


35,522 


3,286,461 


109,346,010 


4,879,285 


.69 


22,082,656 


Virginia 


25,681,000 


118,517 


8,510,113 


216,028,107 


5,495,114 


.42 


45,726.221 


Wash.T. 


42,803,200 


6,529 


484,346 


13,844,224 


958,513 


15.22 


4,212,750 


W. Va. . 


15,772,800 


62,674 


3,792,327 


133,147,175 


2,669,163 


46.97 


19,360,049 


Wis. . . . 


34,848,000 


134,322 


9,162,528 


357,709,507 


15,647,196 


55.31 


72,779,496 


Wy. T. . 


62,448,000 


457 


83,122 


835,895 


95,482 


24,492.30 


372,391 


Totals 


1,900,800,000 


4,008,907 


284,771,042 


10,197,096,776 


406,520,055 




2,213,402,564 





The number of acres of "improved land" was, in 1880, 
284,771,042 — about one-seventh of the entire land- surface. 
This was divided into 4,008,907 farms, the average being about 
71 acres to a farm. There were 4352 farms with less than 3 
acres; 134,889 with from 3 to 10 acres; 254,749 with from 10 



FARMS AND FARM AREAS. 



37 



to 20 acres; 781,474 with from 20 to 50 acres; 1,032,910 with 
from 50 to 100 acres; 1,695,983 with from 100 to 500 acres; 
75,972 with from 500 to 1000 acres; 28,578 with 1000 or more 
acres. In 1870 there were 188,921,099 acres of improved land, 
an increase in 1880 of 52 per cent. The ratio of increase in 
the several States is shown in the table. In 1880, besides the 
"improved land," there were 251,310,773 acres of "unimproved 
land in farms," making the entire farming area 536,081,835 
acres. 

The valuation of farms, including land, buildings, and 
fences, in 1880, was $10,197,096,776; in 1870 it was (in gold) 
$7,410,243,089, an increase in 1880 of 30.7 per cent., the ratio 
of increase being a mere fraction above that of the increase of 
population. The value of farming implements and machinery 
in 1880 was $406,520,055; in 1870 it was (in gold) $289,502,743, 
an increase in 1880 of 52 per cent. 

The value of farms themselves has, since 1870, increased in 
a ratio somewhat greater than that of the increase of the popu- 
lation ; and the value of the implements used in agriculture has 
increased in a higher ratio still. The inference is obvious : 
agriculture in general has been found a lucrative occupation. 
When we come to consider more in detail the special branches 
of agricultural enterprise, this conclusion will be even more 
thoroughly established. 



38 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER VI. 

FARM PRODUCTS. 

TABLE VI. shows for each State the acreage devoted to 
each of the principal crops, and the amount produced of 
each in 1880. We take up the cereals in the order of their 
values : 

The Cereals, 

Indian-corn. — Indian-corn, or maize, is the most important 
crop of the United States. The acreage devoted to it exceeds 
by about one-tenth that of all the other cereals — wheat, oats, 
barley, rye, and buckwheat; the number of bushels yielded is 
nearly twice that of all these other grains ; and the value of the 
crop exceeds that of all of them by about 30 per cent. In 1880 
there were 62,368,000 acres of corn, producing 1,754,600,000 
bushels, or 28.1 bushels per acre. The value of the crop, at 40 
cents per bushel, was $701,840,000, or $11.25 per acre. In 1870 
the produce was 760,944,000 bushels — an apparent increase in 
1880 of 130 per cent. But 1870 was an exceptionally bad year 
for corn, the yield for 1871, with little increase of acreage, being 
990,000,000 bushels. For purposes of comparison it is safer 
to take the average yield of the years 1871 to 1879, which was 
1,194,512,000 bushels, the increase in 1880 over this average 
being about 560,000,000 bushels, or 46.9 per cent. 

Corn is grown in every State in the Union. Its production 
is smallest, in proportion to the population, in the New Eng- 
land States. Next in the reverse order of production are the 
extreme Southern States. Then come the group of Middle 
States, lying east of Ohio and Michigan and north of Virginia. 
The chief area of corn- growing is the Western and North- 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



39 



western States. Six States — Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, 
Ohio, and Kansas — produced in 1880 upwards of 1,200,000,000 
bushels of corn : more than two-thirds of all that was grown in 
the United States. It will be seen from Table VI. that these 
are also the States which contain the largest numbers of swine. 

Corn, although used to a considerable extent as human food 
— more especially in the Southern States — finds its chief use as 
food for animals. Strictly speaking, it can hardly be considered 
one of our great bread-stuffs, although warm cakes and pud- 
dings made from it take to a considerable extent the place of 
bread. Corn, as compared with wheat, is deficient in the nitro- 
genous element, which is however readily supplemented by the 
use of meat or fats with it. It seems quite within the range of 
science to devise a mode of making corn " bread," in the proper 
sense of the term. 

As yet, corn does not at all rank with wheat as an article 
of export ; and there is little reason to anticipate that it will do 
so. But so valuable are its uses, and so comparatively abun- 
dant is its yield, except in unfavorable seasons, that there can 
be no doubt that it will continue to be, if not the most impor- 
tant, yet one of the most important of our cereal crops — one 
which will be found among those most profitable to the farmer, 
especially if he be also a stock-raiser. 

The corn-crop of 1881 was very deficient, the average yield 
being only 18.6 bushels per acre — the lowest on record. The 
crop of 1882, notwithstanding a considerable increase of acre- 
age, is estimated by the Commissioner of Agriculture at about 
1,625,000,000 bushels,- or 7.4 per cent, less than that of 1880. 

Wheat. — Wheat is not known to exist in its native wild 
state. As a cultivated plant it has been known from the ear- 
liest historical ages, and has always formed a large portion of 
the bread-stuff of all civilized peoples. It is the most perfect 
of grains, since it contains in itself all the elements required for 
human food, and in the right proportions. A man may subsist 
in health upon no other food than brown bread made from 
unbolted flour, or from " middlings," or " seconds," in which the 
bran has been removed by the first bolting. But the subse- 



40 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



quent boltings by which fine and superfine flour is produced for 
making " white bread " remove some of the essential elements 
of the grain. Bread made from this flour will not alone sustain 
life for any considerable period. Dogs have been fed, by way 
of experiment, upon white bread only, and they starved to death 



TABLE VI.— ACREAGE AND PRODUCT OF GRAIN CROPS, 1880. 



States. 


Corn. 


Wheat. 


Oats. 




Acres. 


Bushels. 


Acres. 


Bushels. 


Acres. 


Bushels. 


Al "K 


2,055,929 


25,451,278 


264,971 


1,529,657 


324,628 


3,039,639 




1,818 


34,746 


9,026 


136,427 


29 


564 




1,298,310 


24,156,417 


204,084 


1,269,715 


166,513 


2,219,822 




71,781 


1,993,325 


1,832,429 


29,017,707 


49,947 


1,341,271 




22,991 


455,968 


64,693 


1,425,014 


23,023 


640,900 




55,796 


1,880,421 


2,198 


38,742 


36,691 


1,209,706 


Tin Lrnto 


90,852 


2,000,864 


265,298 


2,830,289 


78,226 


2,217,132 




202,120 


3,894,264 


87.539 


1,175,272 


17,158 


378,508 


Dist. of Columbia 


1,032 


29,750 


284 


6,402 


267 


7,440 


TO 1 /AIM / 1 r» 


360,294 


3,174,234 


81 


422 


47,962 


468,112 




2,538,733 


23,202,018 


475,684 


3,159,771 


612,778 


5,548,743 




569 


16,408 


22,066 


540,589 


13,197 


462,236 




9,019,381 


325,792,481 


3,218,542 


51,110,502 


1,959,889 


63,189,200 




3,678,420 


115,482,300 


2,619,695 


47,284.853 


623,531 


15,599,518 




6,616,144 


275,014,247 


3,049,288 


31,154,205 


1,507,577 


50,610,591 




3,417,817 


105,729,325 


1,861,402 


17,324,141 


435,859 


8,180,385 




3,021,176 


72,852,263 


1,160,108 


11,356,113 


403,416 


4,580,738 




742,728 


0,889,689 


1,501 


5,034 


26,861 


229,840 




30,997 


960,633 


43,829 


665,714 


78,785 


2,265,575 




664,928 


15,968,533 


569,296 


8,204,864 


101,127 


1,794,872 


Massachusetts. . . . 


52,555 


1,797,768 


963 


15,768 


20,659 


645,159 




919,656 


32,461,452 


1,822,749 


35,532,543 


536,187 


18,190,793 




438, 737 


14,831,741 


3,044,6/0 


34,601,030 


617,469 


23,382,158 




1,570,550 


21,340,800 


43,524 


218,890 


198,497 


1,959,620 


Missouri 


5 588 °fi5 


909 41 4 41 3 


074 3Q4. 






on a 70 qkq 


Montana Ter. . . . 


197 


5,649 


17,765 


469,688 


24,691 


900,915 


Nebraska 


1,630,660 


65,450,135 


1,469,865 


13,847,207 


250,457 


6,555,875 




487 


12,891 


3,674 


69,298 


5,937 


186,860 


New Hampshire . 


36,612 


1,350,248 


11,248 


169,316 


29,485 


1,017,620 


New Jersey 


344,555 


11,150,705 


149,760 


1,901,739 


137,422 


3,710,573 


New Mexico Ter. 


41,449 


633,786 


51,230 


706,641 


9,237 


156,527 


New York 


779,272 


25,690,156 


736,611 


11,587,766 


1,261,171 


37,575,506 


North Carolina . . 


2,305,419 


28,019,839 


646,829 


3,397,393 


500,415 


3,838,068 


Ohio 


3,281,923 


111,877,124 


2,556,134 


46,014,869 


910,388 


28,664,504 




5,646 


126,862 


445,077 


7,480,010 


151,624 


4,385,650 


Penns}^lvania .... 


1,373,270 


45,821,531 


1,445,384 


19,462,405 


1,237,593 


33,841,439 


Rhode Island .... 


11,893 


372,967 


17 


240 


5,575 


159,339 


South Carolina . . . 


1,303,404 


11,767,099 


170,902 


962,358 


261,445 


2,715,505 




2,904,873 


62,764,429 


1,196,563 


7,331,353 


468,566 


4,722,190 




2,468,587 


29,065,172 


373,570 


2,567,737 


238,010 


4,893.359 


Utah Territory . . . 


12,207 


163,342 


72,542 


1,169,199 


19,525 


418,082 




55,249 


2,014,274 


20,748 


337,257 


99,548 


3,742,282 




1,768,127 


29,119,761 


901,177 


7,826,174 


563,443 


5,333,181 


Washington Ter. 


2,117 


30,183 


81,554 


1,921,322 


37,962 


1,571,706 


West Virginia . . . 


565,785 


14,090,609 


393,068 


4,201,711 


126,931 


1,908,505 




1,015,393 


34,230,579 


1,948,160 


24,884,689 


955,597 


32,905,320 


Wyoming Ter. . . 






241 


4,674 


822 


22,512 


Totals. 


62,368,504 


1,754,591,676 


35,430,333 


459,483,137 


16,144,593 


407,858,999 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



41 



in a month. But when white bread is eaten, as it usually is, 
together with other kinds of food which supply the elements 
abstracted by bolting, it forms the real staff of life in the United 
States and in Europe for all who can afford it. 

Wheat is grown in every State of the Union ; but its growth 



TABLE VI. (continued). — ACREAGE, ETC., 1880. 



States. 


Barley. 


E 


ye. 


Potatoes. 


Hay. 




Acres. 


Bushels. 


A ores. 


Bushels. 


Bushels. 


Tons. 


Alabama 


511 


5,281 


5,764 


28,402 


334,925 


10,363 


Arizona 


12,404 


239,051 






26,249 


5,606 


Arkansas 


157 


1,952 


3.290 


22,387 


402,027 


23,295 


California 


586,350 


12,463. 06I 


20.281 


181,681 


4,550,565 


1,135,180 




4,112 


107,116 






000, 1*0 




Connecticut 


575 


12,286 


29,794 


370,733 


2,584,262 


557,860 


Dakota 


16,156 


277,424 


2,385 


24,359 


664,086 


308,036 


Delaware 


19 


523 


773 


5,953 


283,864 


49,632 


District of Columbia . . 






301 


3,704 


33,064 


3,759 


Florida 


21 


210 


601 


2,965 


20,221 


149 


Georgia 


1,439 


18,662 


25,854 


101,716 


249,590 


14,409 


Idaho 


8,291 


274. Tod 


354 


4,341 


157,307 


40,053 


Illinois 


55,267 


1.229,523 


192,138 


3,121,785 


10,365,707 


3,280,319 


Indiana 


16,399 


382.835 


25,400 


303,105 


6,232,246 


1,361,083 


Iowa . . 


198,861 


4,022,588 


102,607 


1,518.605 


9,962,5371 


3,613,941 


Kansas 


23,993 


300,273 


34^621 


413,181 


2,894,198 


1,589,987 


Kentucky 


20,080 


486,326 


89,417 


668,050 


2,269,890 


218,739 








201 


1,013 


180,115 


37,029 




11,106 


242,185 


2,161 


26.398 


7,999,625 


1,107,788 


Maryland . . 


226 


6,097 


32*405 


288^067 


1,497,017 


264,468 


Massachusetts . . 


3.171 


80,128 


21,666 


213^716 


3'070'389 


684,679 


Michigan . . 


54,506 


1,204,316 


22' 815 


294! 918 


10' 924 111 


1,393^888 


Minnesota 


116^020 


2^972^965 


13 614 


215,245 


5484,676 


1^636^912 




44 


348 


'806 


5J34 


303! 821 


8,894 


6,472 


123,031 


46,484 


535,426 


4,189,694 


1,077,458 


Montana Territory .... 


1,323 


39,970 


15 


430 


228,702 


63,947 




115,201 


1,744,686 


34,297 


424,348 


2,150,893 


785,433 




19,399 


513,470 






302,143 


95,853 


New Hampshire 


3,461 


77.877 


3,218 


34,638 


3,358,828 


583,069 




240 


4.091 


106,025 


949,064 


3,563,793 


518,990 


Xew Mexico Territory . 


2,548 


50,053 


17 


240 


21,883 


7,650 


Xew York 


356.629 


7,792,062 


244,923 


2,634,690 


33,644,807 


5,240,563 


Xorth Carolina 


230 


2,421 


61,953 


285,160 


722,773 


93,711 


Ohio 


57,482 


1,707,129 


29,499 


389,221 


12,719,215 


2,210,923 




29,311 


920,977 


841 


13,305 


1,359,930 


266,187 


Pennsylvania 


23.592 


438,100 


398.465 


3,683,621 


16,284,819 


2,811,654 


Rhode Island 


715 


17,783 


1,270 


12.997 


606,793 


79,328 


South Carolina 


1,162 


16,257 


7,152 


27,049 


144,942 


2,706 




2,600 


30,019 


32,493 


156,419 


1,354,481 


186,698 


Texas 


5,527 


72,786 


3,326 


25,399 


228,832 


59,699 




11,268 


217,140 


1,153 


9,605 


573,595 


92,735 




10.552 


267,625 


6,319 


71,733 


4,438,172 


1,051,183 




859 


14,223 


48,746 


324,431 


2,016,766 


287,255 


Washington Territory . 


14,680 


566,537 


518 


7,124 


1,035,177 


106,819 


West Virginia 


424 


9,740 


17,279 


113,181 


1,398,539 


232,338 


Wisconsin 


204,335 


5,043,118 


169,692 


2,298,513 


8,509,161 


1,896,969 


Wyoming Territory . . . 






6 


- 78 


30,986 


23,413 


Totals 


1,997,727 


43,997,495 


1,842,233 


19,831,595 


169,458,539 


35,205,712 



42 THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 

has since 1850 fallen off in all the New England States except 
Maine. These six States produced in 1880 only 1,125,000 
bushels. There are single counties in all of the great wheat- 
growing States each of which produce more — some of them 
twice as much — wheat as all New England. In some of the 
wheat-growing States the production remains nearly stationary, 
or has declined relatively to the population, for several decades. 
In 1850 New York was a great wheat-growing State, producing 
13,100,000 bushels; in i860 the production fell to 8,700,000 
bushels; in 1870 it rose to 12,200,000 bushels, and in 1880 de- 
clined to 11,600,000 bushels. In Pennsylvania the production 
in 1850 was 15,400,000 bushels; in i860, 13,000,000; in 1870, 
19,700,000; in 1880, 19,500,000. In New Jersey the product 
in 1850 was 1,600,000 bushels; in i860, 1,700,000; in 1870, 
2,300,000; in 1880, 1,900,000. In Maryland the production 
in 1850 was 4,500,000 bushels; in i860, 6,100,000; in 1870, 
5,800,000; in 1880, 8,000,000. In Virginia (including what is 
now West Virginia) the production in 1850 was 11,200,000 
bushels; in i860, 13,100,000; in 1870, 9,900,000; in 1880, 
11,800,000. In North Carolina the production in 1850 was 
2,100,000; in i860, 4,700,000; in 1870, 2,900,000; in 1880, 
3,400,000. 

Previous to 1850 these seven States constituted almost the 
entire wheat-growing section of the country. During the thirty 
succeeding years their absolute production of wheat has varied 
very slightly, while their population has increased about 70 per 
cent. In 1850 Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan were just 
coming into importance as wheat -growing States. In 1880 
Illinois alone produced seven-eighths as much wheat as all these 
seven Central Atlantic States and New England together ; In- 
diana and Ohio each about four-fifths as much ; Michigan and 
Minnesota each about five -eighths as much; California and 
Iowa each about half as much. 

This great falling off, in all of the Atlantic States, in the 
production of wheat as compared with the increase of popula- 
tion shows that wheat-growing in those States is not, except 
under special circumstances, a profitable business — at least, does 



SOWING AND REAPING IN DAKOTA. 
See Note 2. 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



45 



not furnish as profitable use for the land as is furnished by 
other crops. In some sections the decline is to be attributed 
to the soil or climate not being adapted to the growth of the 
grain. In others the great cause has been injudicious farming. 
The soil has been exhausted by repeated crops, without sup- 
plying the missing elements by means of fertilizers. Thus, in 
some parts of Central New York, where fifty years ago thirty 
or forty bushels per acre were expected, the crop gradually fell 
off to seven or eight bushels, and the cultivation of wheat was 
given up — the farmers taking up other crops, or moving to the 
West, where there were fresh lands : to be, in not a few cases, 
subjected to the same ruinous mode of farming. Such soils 
can be restored to their original fertility by judicious farming 
and by the use of fertilizers. If one has land in these States 
which has not been exhausted, or which may be restored, he 
may find wheat-growing a profitable business ; but hardly if he 
has not such land. 

In 1880 the area of wheat-growing was 35,430,333 acres; 
the yield was 459,483,137 bushels, or 13 bushels per acre. The 
value of the crop, at $1.05 per bushel (the average for the pre- 
ceding ten years), was §482,457,293, or upon an average §13.65 
per acre. In 1870 the production was 287,745,626 bushels — 
an increase in 1880 of 59.7 per cent. 

The yield of wheat varies very greatly in different sections 
of the country. In 1880 the average yield in Michigan was 
1 9. 1 bushels per acre; in Indiana and Ohio, 18 bushels; in 
Illinois, California, and New York, 15.8 bushels; in Minnesota 
and Pennsylvania, 1 3.5 bushels ; in Missouri, Iowa, West Vir- 
ginia, and Kentucky, 10 bushels; in Kansas and Nebraska, 9.2 
bushels ; in Texas, 7 bushels ; in Georgia, 6.5 bushels ; in Ten- 
nessee, 6 bushels. The yield in the States where it is the 
greatest is far below what is attained in countries where the 
soil and climate are less favorable to the plant. The average 
yield in England in good seasons is 33 bushels to the acre ; in 
Denmark, 27 bushels. Numerous instances are given in which 
upon fields of considerable extent in various sections of the 
United States the yield was very much larger than this. These 



46 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



results have been attained only by very high tillage, and per- 
haps a more free use of fertilizers than would at present be 
found profitable by the majority of farmers. But as the price 
of wheat-land advances, more and more costly and careful till- 
age must be resorted to. In the judgment of the best authori- 
ties the average yield per acre of wheat throughout the country 
might now be increased from twenty to fifty per cent., without 
anything like a corresponding increase in the cost to the 
produce. 

The year 1881 was an unfavorable one for wheat as well as 
for corn. The yield of 1882 was good, and there was a large 
increase of acreage. The Commissioner of Agriculture esti- 
mates the crop at about 503,000,000 bushels — an increase in 
1882 over 1880 of 9.3 per cent. Of this it is estimated that 
250,000,000 bushels would be required for home consumption, 
57,000,000 for seed, leaving nearly 200,000,000 bushels for ex- 
portation. In several of the great wheat-growing States there 
was a sensible decrease of the yield from that of 1880. Kan- 
sas increased from 17,000,000 bushels to 33,000,000; Oregon, 
from 7,500,000 to 12,000,000; California, from 29,000,000 to 
34,500,000; South Carolina, from 960,000 to 1,730,000. 

Oats. — Next in importance after corn and wheat come oats. 
With us they are used as human food only to a very limited 
extent, 'their main use being as food for live-stock — more espe- 
cially of horses. Oats are grown in every State of the Union, 
and in considerable quantities in several. But the nine States 
of Illinois, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, 
Minnesota, Missouri, and Michigan produce three-fourths of all 
the oats grown in the United States. 

In 1880 there were 16,144,593 acres devoted to oats, yield- 
ing 407,858,899 bushels, or 24.6 bushels to the acre. The value 
of the crop, at 34.5 cents per bushel (the average of the preced- 
ing ten years), was $140,711,320, or $8.40 per acre. The pro- 
duction in 1870 was 282,107,157 bushels, being an increase in 
1880 of 44.6 per cent. 

The real value of the oat, however, is considerably greater 
than appears from the foregoing figures, in which account is 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



47 



taken only of the grain itself, for the straw makes excellent fod- 
der. Moreover, it is a hardy plant, will thrive on almost any 
soil which is not too wet, is liable to few diseases and insect 
enemies, exhausts the soil less than most other crops, and so 
requires comparatively little manuring. Upon the whole, oats 
may be considered a very safe and reliable crop. 

Both 1 88 1 and 1882 were unusually good years for oats. 
The Commissioner of Agriculture estimates the crop of 1882 
at about 476,000,000 bushels — an increase over that of 1880 of 
17 per cent. The acreage sown was also very considerably in- 
creased. The great yield of oats in 1881 went far to supply 
the deficiency in the corn crop of that year. 

Barley. — Throughout the most of Northern and Central 
Europe barley and rye constitute the chief bread-stuffs of the 
peasantry. From these is made the black bread which they 
mostly eat, wheat bread being almost unknown to them. With 
us barley is scarcely used at all for food, but almost wholly for 
the production of malt, to be used in brewing. It is grown 
somewhat in every part of the Union, but is an important crop 
only in California, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, 
which produce three-fourths of the whole crop. In 1880 there 
were 1,997,727 acres devoted to barley, producing 43,997,495 
bushels. The value of the crop, at 73 cents per bushel (the 
average of the preceding ten years), was $32,118,171, or $16.10 
per acre. The production in 1870 was 29,761,305 bushels — an 
increase in 1880 of 47.8 per cent. 

Rye. — Rye, as well as barley, is largely used as a bread-stuff 
by the peasantry of Northern and Central Europe. It was for- 
merly considerably used, mixed with corn-meal, for bread in 
some of the United States. But its main use is for distilling. 
Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin produce two- 
thirds of all the rye grown in the United States. There were, 
in 1880, 1,842,233 acres devoted to rye, producing 19,831,595 
bushels, or 10.8 bushels per acre. The value of th% crop, at 69 
cents per bushel (the average of the preceding ten years), was 
$13,683,800, or $7.51 per acre. The production of 1870 was 
16,918,795 bushels, an increase in 1880 of 17.2 per cent. But 



48 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



the production in 1850 was nearly as great, and in i860 consid- 
erably greater, than in 1880; so that, relatively to the popula- 
tion, the cultivation of rye has steadily fallen off during the 
last thirty years. In respect to the value of the crop per acre, 
it stands lowest of all our cereals. 

Buckwheat is grown in small quantities in all except the 
Southern States ; but more than two-thirds of the whole crop is 
produced in New York and Pennsylvania. There were, in 1880, 
848,389 acres of buckwheat, producing 11,817,327 bushels, or 
14 bushels per acre. The value of the crop, at 70 cents per 
bushel, was $8,272,128, or $9.80 per acre. The production, in 
1870, was 9,821,721 bushels, an increase in 1880 of 20 per cent. 
But the production in i860 exceeded that of 1880 by about 33 
per cent. Buckwheat has never come to be at all a staple crop, 
its chief recommendation being that it will grow where nothing 
else will. 

Rice can hardly be reckoned among the cereal grains of 
the United States, its production being practically limited to 
Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina, the last State produ- 
cing about one-half of the entire crop. Its cultivation can be 
carried on successfully only in low, swampy lands which can be 
overflowed at pleasure. In 1880 there were 174,173 acres of 
rice-fields, producing 110,131,373 pounds, the value of which, at 
five cents per pound, was $5,506,558, or $32 per acre. The 
rice -swamps are exceedingly unhealthy for white persons. In 
no case can the cultivation of rice be greatly extended in the 
United States, as the area adapted for the growth of the plant 
is very limited. 

Root Plants. 

Apart from bread-stuffs the potato (improperly called the 
Irish potato) and the sweet-potato constitute the principal veg- 
etable food of the people of the United States. Table VI. 
shows for each State the acreage and yield of these plants. 

The Potato. — Although potatoes are grown to some extent 
in every State of the Union, their cultivation is mainly confined 
to Virginia and the States lying north of it. In the Southern 
States their place is taken by the sweet-potato ; in Virginia itself 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



49 



the production of the two species is about equal. The acreage 
devoted to potatoes in 1SS0 is given in the Census for only the 
sixteen States where they form an important crop. In these 
States there were in 1SS0 about 1,170,000 acres, producing 
107,800,000 bushels, or 90 bushels per acre. The entire product 
of 1SS0 was 169,458,539 bushels. The value of the crop, at 55 
cents per bushel (the average of the ten preceding years'), was 
$93,202,196, or S49.50 per acre, being more than for any other 
farm crop. In 1S70 the product was 143.337,473 bushels, an 
increase in 18S0 of 1S.2 per cent. 

Potatoes are, however, a more uncertain crop than almost 
any other, and, as they cannot well be kept over from one year 
to the next, their market value is regulated to a great extent by 
the amount of their production in that year. Thus in 1S71 the 
yield was 98 bushels per acre, price per bushel S0.59; in 1S72, 
yield 85 bushels, price S0.60; in 1873, yield 90 bushels, price 
S0.70; in 1S74. yield 81 bushels, price $0.68; in 1S75, yield no 
bushels, price S0.40; in 1S76, yield 71 bushels, price S0.67; in 
1877, yield 95 bushels, price S0.45 ; in 187S, yield 70 bushels, 
price $0.59; in 1879, yield 99 bushels, price S0.44. The av- 
erage value of the crop per acre during these nine years was 
about $48. 

To offset this high average value per acre of the potato crop 
it must be borne in mind that the cultivation and harvesting of 
a bushel of potatoes involves more labor than for a bushel of 
any of the grain crops, although the quite recent introduction of 
the " potato-planter " and the " potato-digger,'' drawn by horses, 
greatly reduces the work upon large fields. As a product of the 
garden or of comparatively small fields in the vicinity of cities 
or large towns, where the highest culture can be profitably em- 
ployed, the potato is one of the most profitable crops which can 
be raised. The market-gardener will, of course, select the varie- 
ties which produce the best fruit, and will make free use of ma- 
nures and fertilizers. The very best tubers should be picked 
out for seed, since they are worth for that purpose far more 
than their market value. 

The Sweet-potato. — The sweet-potato is largely and profit- 



50 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



ably cultivated in New Jersey, for the supply of the great mar- 
kets of New York and Philadelphia. Elsewhere its production 
is almost wholly confined to Virginia and the more southern 
States, where it takes the place of the potato. Since 1850, how- 
ever, its cultivation has greatly decreased absolutely, and still 
more largely relatively, to the increase of population. In 1850 
the production was 38,000,000 bushels, exceeding that of 1880 
by 18 per cent. The production reached its highest point in 
i860, when it was 42,000,000 bushels, exceeding that of 1880 by 
27 per cent. In 1870 it fell off to a little more than 21,000,000 
bushels — only half as much as was produced in 1850. In 1880 
the product was 33,378,693 bushels, an increase in 1880 over 
1870 of 54 per cent. This large recent increase, after a period 
of decrease, shows that this branch of agricultural industry has 
grown profitable. The increase is general, and pretty nearly 
uniform in all of the ten States where the sweet-potato is mainly 
grown, Texas alone showing a decrease. There are no statistics 
accessible for the acreage of the sweet-potato or the value of the 
crop. It is mainly raised for home consumption, except in those 
sections which have ready access to the Northern markets. In 
these sections, especially in New Jersey and the seaboard of 
Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, there can be no doubt 
that this crop holds out high inducements for the cultivator. 

Other Root Crops. — The various species of turnips are 
largely grown in Europe as food for cattle and for the oil ex- 
tracted from their seeds. Beets are also largely cultivated there 
for the production of sugar. Both of these are with us raised 
to a considerable extent as food for cattle, especially for milch 
cows ; but they are mainly products of the garden rather than 
of the farm. So, also, are carrots, parsnips, radishes, onions, 
and other tubers. No data are given in the Census Report to 
enable us to estimate the acreage, quantity, or value of any of 
these products ; but it is certain that their cultivation is a lucra- 
tive industry, and is capable of being made more so wherever 
there is a market for garden products. A few acres near a city 
or large town may be made to afford more net profit than a 
considerable farm in the strictly agricultural regions. 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



51 



Sugar. 

In tropical climates much sugar is produced from the sap of 
various species of the palm ; with us, from the sap of the maple. 
In France, Germany, and other parts of Europe, very large 
quantities are made from the juice of the beet. But by far the 
greatest part of the sugar of the world comes from the juice 
of the sugar-cane. Some years ago it was estimated that the 
entire consumption of sugar in the world was 3,500,000,000 
pounds — of which 66.47 P er cent, was cane-sugar; beet-sugar 
was 27.87 per cent.; palm-sugar, 4.29 per cent.; maple-sugar, 
1.28 per cent. 

Cane-sugar. — About one-third of the cane-suorar of the world 
is produced in Cuba, nearly another third in the other West 
India Islands and in the French colonies. In the United States 
its production is limited to a very small territorial area, mostly 
comprised in the eight southern " parishes " of Louisiana, lying 
west of the Mississippi and upon the Gulf of Mexico. Few of 
the remaining fifty parishes produce sugar to any considerable 
amount. There were, in all, in 1880, 227,776 acres devoted to 
the sugar-cane, producing 178,872 hogsheads of sugar, and 
16,573,273 gallons of molasses. Of this, 181,592 acres — pro- 
ducing 171,706 hogsheads of sugar, and 11,696,248 gallons of 
molasses — were in Louisiana. The average product per acre 
of the sugar-cane is estimated at about $100. But the climate 
even of Southern Louisiana is not among the best for the cane, 
and its cultivation is made profitable only by reason of the 
heavy duty laid upon foreign sugar and molasses. Sugar is 
about our only agricultural product which is "protected" by a 
tariff. If the duty were removed the cultivation of the cane 
here would cease. The production of cane-sugar cannot be suc- 
cessfully prosecuted anywhere except upon a large scale, and 
by means of costly machinery ; and its area of culture in the 
United States cannot be much extended. The amount raised 
here forms but a small fraction of that required for consump- 
tion. The greater part of our sugar is imported " raw," and is 
"refined" in New York and other cities. "Sugar-refining" is a 



52 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



very important industry, but it belongs to the department of 
Manufactures — not to that of Farming. 

The growing of the sugar-cane in the United States has de- 
clined since 1850. In that year there were produced 247,577 
hogsheads of sugar and 12,700,000 gallons of molasses, the sugar 
product exceeding that of 1880 by 39 per cent. In i860 the 
product of sugar was 230,982 hogsheads, exceeding that of 1880 
by 33 per cent. The civil war put an almost total stop to the 
production of sugar in the South. It began to revive upon the 
restoration of peace, but the product in 1870 was only 87,043 
hogsheads — less than one-fourth of what it was in 1850, although 
the less important article of molasses had increased. The re- 
vival went on from 1870 to 1880, and just about doubled, but 
still falling very far below what it had reached thirty years be- 
fore ; and there is no probability of any considerable increase 
hereafter. It is more than probable (as is shown below) that 
sugar from sorghum will at no distant date supersede that from 
the cane to a very great extent. 

Maple-sugar. — Up to about 1850, when means of transport 
were comparatively scanty and money scarce, maple-sugar was a 
considerable product in sections where the tree was abundant, 
especially in New York, Vermont, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and 
Indiana. In 1850 the product was 34,000,000 pounds of sugar 
and 13,000,000 gallons of molasses; in i860 there were pro- 
duced 40,000,000 pounds of sugar and 1,600,000 gallons of mo- 
lasses; in 1870 there were 28,000,000 pounds of sugar and 
1,000,000 gallons of molasses. Thus, relatively to the increase 
of population, the product of maple-sugar in 1870 was 44 per 
cent, less than in i860. This decrease is owing partly to the 
comparative cheapness of imported cane-sugar, and partly to the 
rapid cutting down of the trees for fuel and lumber. In 1880 
maple-sugar did not appear in the Census Report among farm 
products. It has come to be among the delicacies rather than 
the necessities of life, its peculiar flavor rendering it a favorite 
accompaniment for certain articles of food. Its manufacture 
must be confined to a few weeks in the year in which the fanner 
has comparatively little to do, and so it really costs him little or 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



53 



nothing. The amount which can be produced must of necessity 
diminish with the decrease of the forests, and all that can be 
made will be sure of a ready sale. Any one who has a number 
of the trees will find maple-sugar a profitable product. 

Sorghum- sugar. — The sorghum - plant, sometimes called 
" Chinese sugar-cane," has long been used in China for the pro- 
duction of sugar. Seeds of the plant were first brought to 
Europe in 185 1. In 1854 small quantities of the seed were 
brought to the United States and distributed among cultivators 
in various sections. The plant was found to flourish on appro- 
priate soils from Maine to Texas. Its cultivation spread rap- 
idly, especially in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, 
and Tennessee, mainly for the sake of the molasses made from' 
its juice, although the leaves form an excellent food for cattle — 
100 pounds of the green leaves being for that purpose equal to 
75 or 80 pounds of hay. 

Until quite recently sorghum-juice was almost wholly con- 
verted into molasses. The Census of 1870 reports only 24 
hogsheads of sorghum-sugar, while there were 16,000,000 gal- 
lons of molasses — two and a half times as much as there were 
of cane-molasses in that year, and seven per cent, more than 
there were of cane-molasses in i860. The Census Report of 
1880 makes no mention of sorghum, and the production appar- 
ently fell off between 1870 and 1880. The molasses usually had 
a somewhat unpleasant, earthy flavor, although that which was 
skilfully prepared was not inferior to the best cane-molasses. 
But the efforts to crystallize the sirup were only moderately 
successful, either in respect to the quantity or the quality of the 
sugar produced. But since 1880 great improvements have been 
introduced, by which sugar equal to any other can be produced 
from sorghum at a cost much less than that of producing cane- 
sugar in Louisiana ; and there can be no doubt that the cultiva- 
tion of sorghum must soon rank very high among our great 
agricultural industries. The area where the sugar-cane will 
grow in the United States is very limited, while it may be said 
in general terms that the area of sorghum is co-extensive with 

that of Indian-corn — perhaps not extending quite so far north- 

4 



54 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



ward, but reaching a little farther southward. To produce sugar 
from the cane requires powerful and costly machinery to crush 
the tough stalks ; sorghum can be crushed much more easily. 
Cane-sugar can be produced at a profit only upon large planta- 
tions ; sorghum-sugar can be made upon a scale not beyond the 
reach of an ordinary farmer. Probably, however, it will ulti- 
mately be found more advantageous for the farmer to sell his 
stalks to the sorghum-mills. 

Beet -sugar. — The production of sugar upon a large scale 
from the more saccharine species of beets was set on foot in 
France about 1811, during the Napoleonic wars, when the ports 
of Continental Europe were so closely blockaded by the British 
that cane-sugar could not be had from the West Indies. The 
production spread into Germany, Austria, and Russia, where it 
is still an important industry. Various attempts have been 
made to introduce its manufacture into Great Britain and the 
United States, but none of these have met with satisfactory 
results. Apart from the comparatively small amount of saccha- 
rine matter, the juice of the beet is highly charged with impu- 
rities, which must be removed before the sugar is merchantable. 
There is no likelihood that the production of beet -sugar will 
ever become profitable in the United States. 

Corn-sugar, Starch-sugar, or Glucose.— This, though an 
artificial production, is chemically so much like cane-sugar that 
the two were long considered by chemists to be the same. Glu- 
cose is made by boiling starch of any kind in a weak dilution 
of sulphuric acid, then neutralizing the acid by means of lime. 
Glucose, until quite recently, was mainly used in Europe for 
wine-making and brewing, in order to produce, by fermentation, 
a larger amount of alcohol, and was known as "grape-sugar," 
although made mainly from potato -starch. Within a year or 
two glucose has come to be largely made from the starch of 
corn. Besides its use in brewing — a hundred pounds of it being 
sometimes added to three hundred pounds of malt — glucose is 
used in making confectionery. It was formerly produced almost 
wholly in the form of a thick sirup; but means have been found 
to treat the sirup so that the crystallized glucose can hardly be 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



55 



distinguished from cane-sugar, except by its deficiency in sweet- 
ness. It is said to be considerably used for adulterating cane- 
sugar, as it can be produced for about half the price per pound. 
There is no reason to suppose that the mixture is deleterious to 
health; but one pound of sugar will sweeten as much water as 
two, three, or four pounds of glucose ; the purchaser of the 
mixture, therefore, pays just in that proportion for an article 
which for household purposes is practically useless, whatever 
may be its advantages to the brewer. Reputable sugar-refiners 
affirm — and probably truly — that they do not themselves use 
glucose at all. The adulteration is probably made by the re- 
tailer. The ordinary purchaser can detect it only by discovering 
that it takes much more sugar than formerly to sweeten his cup 
of tea or coffee. The residue of the corn, after the starch has 
been extracted, forms an excellent food for cattle. The manu- 
facture of glucose from corn can be profitably conducted only 
upon a large scale. 

Hay and Fodder. 
Hay. — Hay certainly ranks as the fourth — perhaps as the 
third — in value among the farm products of the United States. 
The average value of the four principal crops for the nine years 
1871-1879 was: Indian-corn, $495,000,000; wheat, $336,000,000; 
hay, $322,000,000; cotton, $270,000,000. Hay is used almost 
wholly as food for cattle, horses, mules, and sheep, and especially 
for their winter fodder. It is, therefore, most largely required in 
those sections where the winters are long and severe, although 
it is grown more or less in every State of the Union. Table 
VI. shows the quantity produced in 1880 in each State. The 
entire product in 1880 was 35,205,712 tons; in 1870 it was 
27,316,048 tons, an increase in 1880 of 29 per cent, the ratio of 
increase being only 1 per cent, less than that of the increase of 
population. The acreage of hay is not given in the Census Re- 
port; the most authentic estimates place it approximately at 
about 28,000,000 acres in 1880. The average price per ton for 
ten years was $11.50; average yield, 1.23 tons per acre; value 
of crop per acre, $14.04 — considerably exceeding that of corn, 
wheat, or oats. 



56 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



As hay is a bulky crop in comparison with its value, the 
greater part of the yield is consumed- near where it is grown, 
even that required for horses in large cities not being usually 
brought from any great distance. The quantity of hay required 
for wintering stock is an important element in .estimating the 
profitableness of raising and keeping live-stock. In the great 
stock-raising States of Texas, California, and Colorado, stock live 
through the winter almost without hay ; in the New England 
States each head of live-stock consumed, upon an average, 2.40 
tons of hay per year ; in New York and Pennsylvania each 
head eats 1.78 tons; in the group of States represented by Il- 
linois and Ohio the average per head is 0.89 ton ; in the group 
represented by Virginia and Tennessee, 0.24 ton ; while in 
Texas each head consumed only a small fraction of a ton, and 
the cost of fodder for wintering a large herd is scarcely 
appreciable. 

Taken in connection with the raising of live-stock — and 
almost every farmer is to a greater or less extent a stock-raiser 
— the hay crop is of even more real importance than its own 
great value indicates. At the North, indeed, it has long been 
held to lie at the basis of all successful farming. If we take 
into the same view the different kinds of green fodder, this 
statement will be accepted as a just one. Even in those sec- 
tions where stock can actually forage for themselves it would, 
doubtless, be wise economy to provide them with fodder during 
the winter. 

Great attention has been paid by all successful farmers to 
selecting the kinds of grass best adapted to the varieties of soil 
and climate. Timothy, red-top, and blue-grass are conceded to 
be among the best varieties. Clovers are also of great value to 
the farmer for hay, and in other respects. The lucern, a species 
of clover, known also by its Spanish name, " alfalfa," flourishes 
most luxuriantly in California, wherever it can have water 
enough. It does not appear to be a safe crop in the more 
northern States, but, in the opinion of competent judges, it is 
the best of all its congeners for a great part of the South, 
whether cured as hay or given as a green fodder. Various spe- 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



57 



cies of millet are worthy the attention of the farmer as future 
fodder -plants. 

Green Fodder. — Turnips, beets, and the like are much less 
used as animal food among us than in Europe. It is certainly 
worth careful experiment to determine whether the use of them, 
especially for milch-cows, could not be profitably carried much 
farther than it is. The process known as ensilage, or " pitting," 
is highly recommended, as at least a partial substitute for the 
drying and curing operations which constitute hay- making. 
The grass, as soon as possible after cutting, is packed into pits, 
where it is pressed down by heavy weights. The access of air 
being prevented by this close packing, fermentation does not 
ensue. The green corn-stalks, after being cut into small pieces 
by a machine, are treated in the same way. The advocates of 
this comparatively new process claim that the ensilage fodder is 
far better than hay. Not improbably both would be better than 
either. Setting aside the relative value of the two kinds of food, 
the relative cost of preparing it still needs to be definitely de- 
termined. 

Textile Products of the Farm. 

Wool is strictly a farm product; but, as it is also an animal 
product, it is considered in the subsequent chapter upon " Live- 
stock." The quantity produced in the several States is, how- 
ever, embodied with other farm products in Table VI. 

Cotton is not only by far the most important of American 
textile products, but is the most important one in the world. 
Fully one-half of the human race are clothed almost exclusively 
in cotton, and cotton fabrics enter largely into the clothing of a 
great majority of the remainder. Cotton sufficient for the enor- 
mous home consumption is grown in India, but its fibre is too 
short to be wrought up by our present machinery, unless largely 
mixed with the American product; comparatively little is ex- 
ported from India, and for all commercial purposes the United 
States are, and will probably continue to be, the chief producers 
of the staple. Two-thirds of our yield is exported, and the price 
is regulated mainly by that in foreign markets, especially by 
those of Great Britain. 



58 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Cotton is grown to some extent in thirteen States of the 
Union, and is an important product in nine of them ; but nearly 
two-thirds of the whole is grown in Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, 
and Alabama. The product of cotton is usually measured by 
" bales." Up to 1870 a bale was reckoned at 400 pounds. Since 
then the bales have been made heavier, 450 pounds being the 
average. 

In 1880 there were 14,480,619 acres devoted to cotton, pro- 
ducing 5,755,359 bales of 450 pounds, or about 190 pounds to 
the acre. In i860 the product (in bales of 450 pounds) was 
4,788,000 bales. The civil war put an almost entire stop to cot- 
ton-planting, and it was several years before it fairly began to 
revive; so that the product in 1870 was only about 2,675,000 
bales (of 450 pounds), the increase of the abundant year, 1880, 
over the poor year, 1870, being 115 per cent., and about 20 per 
cent, above the great product of i860. There was, according to 
the Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, an increase in 
1 88 1 of about 10 per cent, over the preceding year. In 1882 
there was a decline of two or three per cent, from 1881, owing 
in part to the overflow of the Mississippi. The Report for 1882 
gives the area of cotton-growing as 16,276,691 acres, and the 
product as 3,052,837,946 pounds (6,784,084 bales), averaging 187 
pounds to the acre. In three States the product was considera- 
bly larger per acre. In Arkansas it was 233 pounds; in Loui- 
siana, 235 pounds; in Texas (which produced nearly one-fourth 
of the whole crop) it was 240 pounds per acre. 

The price for cotton has for several years been low, showing 
that the present production is fully up to the demand. It has 
not averaged more than 8 cents per pound, making the average 
product per acre about $15; while the cost of growing, and 
especially of "picking" the "wool" is greater than with most 
other crops. The seed, however, is of considerable value for 
the oil which it furnishes, and as food for cattle when ground. 
Still, there is, among planters — so says a very recent Texan 
writer — " a prevailing conviction that cotton had become com- 
paratively too prominent for the highest profit in the distribu- 
tion of crop areas. While this conviction appears to be general 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



59 



among intelligent growers, the old habit of too extensive cotton- 
growing has been too strong to effect much reduction." 

Taking all things into consideration, it does not appear that 
cotton-growing is likely, for some years to come, to present 
strong inducements for any person to enter upon it who is not 
already engaged in it. The entire cotton crop would probably 
bring as much if the production were very much reduced, while 
a portion of the labor and capital engaged in it w T ould meet 
with a better reward if otherwise employed. These opinions 
apply especially to the older and more densely settled of the 
cotton States. In Texas the cultivation of cotton will undoubt- 
edly be much extended. 

Flax. — In 1850 the production of flax in the United States 
was 7,709,676 pounds. In i860 it had fallen to 4,720,000 pounds. 
In 1870 it rose to 27,133,034 pounds. This almost sixfold in- 
crease from i860 to 1870 was owing to the "cotton-famine" oc- 
casioned by the civil war ; and unsuccessful attempts were made 
to prepare the flax fibre so that it could be worked up by the 
ordinary cotton machinery. But when the cultivation of cotton 
was resumed, after peace was established, that of flax, for its 
fibre, was practically abandoned, and it does not appear in the 
Census of 1880 among farm products. There is little or no 
linen cloth woven in the United States, the supply being imported. 
Some flax is, however, grown for its fibre, for making thread and 
twine, since the Census of 1880 reports 1894 "flax-dressers." 

Flax is with us now grown principally for its seed, and espe- 
cially for the oil expressed from it. Linseed-oil, on account of 
its " drying" property, is the usual vehicle for colors in painting. 
The seed is also used in pharmacy for poultices, for which it is 
specially adapted by its long retention of heat and moisture. 
The residue of the seed, after the oil has been extracted, is val- 
uable as food for cattle. In 1870 there were produced 1,730,444 
bushels of flax-seed; but the supply is insufficient for the de- 
mand, and large quantities are imported, especially from India. 
That there is such importation shows that its production here 
is not profitable. The cultivation of flax, either for the fibre or 
the seed, is, therefore, not a promising industry. 



60 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Hemp is a plant belonging to the nettle family, producing a 
fibre similar to that of flax, but coarser and stronger, and espe- 
cially adapted for cordage. In 1870, 12,746 tons of hemp were 
produced, seven-eighths being in Kentucky. In i860 the prod- 
uct was 74,493 tons — nearly six times as much as in 1870, It 
does not appear at all in the Census of 1880. The experience 
of the last thirty years shows that its cultivation is not profit- 
able. There is a large demand for it, but it can be imported 
more cheaply than it can be grown here. Of the little that is 
produced, more than half is grown in Kentucky, and there is no 
apparent inducement to extend its cultivation. 

Ramie is a plant belonging to the same family as hemp, but 
having a finer and stronger fibre. This is contained in the 
inner bark, which in Eastern countries is stripped from the 
stems, cleansed from useless matter, dried and bleached, and 
then picked by the fingers into filaments of any required fine- 
ness. The plant is sometimes called " China-grass." The so- 
called " grass-cloth " of China is made from this material, and is 
often of extreme fineness. The fibre can be bleached perfectly 
white, and then takes dyes as readily and permanently as silk 
does. Considerable quantities are imported into France and 
England, to be mixed with silk. A species of the plant grows 
wild in the United States and in Canada, but its fibre is not 
very valuable. 

In 1857 a plant of the Chinese ramie was sent to the Botanic 
Garden, in Washington, but no serious attempt was made to 
cultivate the plant for several years. But in 1867 a furore for 
it was excited in some quarters. Incredible stories were told of 
its productiveness. It was said that little labor was required for 
its cultivation, that it produced three crops a year, yielding in 
all 1500 pounds per acre of the prepared fibre. Large quan- 
tities of the bark were prepared and sent to market. But there 
were no known means of separating it into the fine filaments, 
except the slow hand process employed in China, where the cost 
of manual labor is merely nominal, but would here render the 
prepared fibre more expensive than silk. 

The cultivation of ramie was soon abandoned, but there is 




A HARVEST SCENE IN SCOTLAND. 
See Note 2. 



FARM PRODUCTS. 



63 



good reason to believe that it may be resumed under happier 
auspices. The great value of the fibre, and the abundance in 
which it can be produced, are well established. The one thing 
wanted is, some machine for separating the bark into its fine, 
ultimate filaments. It would seem that such an invention is not 
impossible. The man who shall invent such a machine will do 
for this new plant what Whitney did for cotton by the cotton- 
gin. Even as things are, it is suggested that the Chinese hand- 
process might be employed by us to some extent, as an auxiliary 
domestic industry for women and children. It is one that might 
be taken up or laid aside at any spare moment, and thus, what- 
ever should be the value of the fibre, it would be so much clear 
profit. 

Miscellaneozis Farm Products. 

Tobacco is grown more or less in nearly every State and 
Territory, but in several of them in very small quantities. In 
ten States it is an important industry, each of them producing 
more than 10,000,000 pounds a year. In 1880 there were 
638,841 acres devoted to tobacco, producing 472,661,157 pounds. 
Of this 36 per cent, was grown in Kentucky ; 1 7 per cent, in 
Virginia ; and 33 per cent, in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, 
Tennessee, and Ohio. The product in 1870 was 262,735,341 
pounds — an increase in 1880 of 80 per cent. But tobacco- 
growing was seriously diminished by the civil war, the product 
in i860 being 434,209,461 pounds; so that the increase in 1880 
over i860 was only 9 per cent., the increase of population in 
that time being 61 per cent. The cultivation of tobacco is, 
therefore, relatively a declining industry. 

The average yield of tobacco in 1880 was 756 pounds per 
acre ; average price, 8 cents per pound ; value of the entire crop, 
$37,812,902; value of product per acre, $60.80 — considerably 
more than most others of our great products. But its cultiva- 
tion and preparation for market involves more labor than almost 
any other product, and it is, of all crops, the most exhausting to 
the soil. Everything is taken from the land, and nothing is 
returned to it. A very few crops of tobacco will " wear out " 
any field, unless there be an abundant supply of manures and 



64 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



fertilizers. The yield is, moreover, uncertain. Tobacco-growing 
is, for these reasons, a very unpromising industry. 

Hops. — In i860 there were about 11,000,000 pounds of hops 
produced in the United States; in 1870 there were 25,456,669 
pounds, the plant being grown in almost every State, the in- 
crease being nearly 130 per cent. In 1880 there were 46,800 
acres of hops, the product being 26,546,378 pounds, an increase 
of only 4 per cent, over the product of 1870. The cultivation 
was, moreover, practically abandoned everywhere except in Wis- 
consin, California, and New York ; and Wisconsin produced less 
than half as much as in 1870. California, however, more than 
doubled the product of 1870, and in New York the increase was 
nearly 24 per cent. New York in 1880 produced fully 80 per 
cent, of all the hops grown ; and the cultivation was mainly con- 
fined to five of the sixty counties of the State. These five cen- 
tral counties, and two or three counties of California, are the 
only districts in which hop-growing has proved at all profitable 
for several years. 

Pease and Beans. — These leguminous products are very 
largely grown in England and some other parts of Europe, as 
green fodder for cattle, and dried for human food. Their pro- 
duction is much less than formerly. In i860 there were 
15,000,000 bushels; in 1870 only 5,750,000 bushels; and they 
are not enumerated in the Census of 1880. The Pea-nut, or 
ground-nut, may be profitably cultivated from Virginia south- 
ward. Its pods have the singular habit of burying themselves 
in the ground and ripening there, and are dug up, like potatoes. 
The seeds (improperly called " nuts ") yield about 20 per cent, of 
an oil valuable for all purposes for which oils are used, except 
for painting. Large quantities of the nut are imported into 
France from Africa for the sake of the oil, which is used for 
burning, for soap-making, as a lubricant, and for adulterating 
olive-oil. 

Root -Crops. — In Europe various species of the beet and 
turnip are very important farm products, especially for feeding 
cattle. The sugar-beet furnishes a very considerable part of the 
sugar used upon the Continent ; but for this purpose it is not 



FARM PRODUCTS. 65 

probable that it will ever be grown in the United States. In 
the judgment of many whose opinion is of high authority the 
cultivation of the beet and turnip for the feeding of cattle may 
be profitably extended much more widely than it is in this coun- 
try. But at present the beet, turnip, onion, and other bulbous 
plants belong rather to the garden than to the farm. They are 
treated of in the next chapter. 



66 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER VII. 



PRODUCTS OF THE GARDEN. 



O very definite line can be drawn to distinguish a garden 



J. \l from a farm. A garden is, indeed, a miniature farm; but 
it will be convenient to consider any comparatively small piece 
of land devoted to the growth of vegetables as a garden. Every 
farm should, of course, have a kitchen-garden attached to it for 
the supply of vegetables and small fruits for home consumption. 

The successive censuses are, unfortunately — perhaps neces- 
sarily — very meagre in details regarding garden products. No 
attempt has been made to estimate the acreage of gardens. Ac- 
cording to the Census Report of 1850, the value of market-garden 
products was $5,200,000; in i860 it was $16,200,000. In 1870 it 
was (in gold) $16,700,000 — a relative decrease of about 20 per 
cent, as compared with the increase of the population from 
i860 to 1870. This decrease occurred, however, mainly in the 
Southern and Border States, and was owing directly to the civil 
war. In the rest of the Union the ratio of increase in market- 
garden products was quite equal to that of the increase of popu- 
lation. The Census Report of 1880 puts down 51,482 persons 
as " gardeners, nurserymen, and vine-growers ;" but the value of 
the products of the garden and vineyard are not separately 
mentioned, being apparently included among " farm products." 

Gardening and its products may be conveniently divided 
into Horticulture (the culture of vegetables, berries, and the 
small fruits) and Floriculture (the culture of flowers). The 
cultivation of the large fruits is treated in the chapter on 




Orchard Products. 



PRODUCTS OF THE GARDEN. 



67 



Horticulture. 

Vegetables. — In the vicinity of a city, large town, or even 
of a manufacturing village, the growing of vegetables may be 
made highly profitable, and will repay the most careful cultiva- 
tion. An acre or two favorably situated may be made to afford 
more net profit to the cultivator than a considerable farm else- 
where. Even if the soil be naturally unproductive, it can be 
brought to and maintained in a high state of fertility by the use 
of manures and fertilizers, by thorough drainage, and by irriga- 
tion when necessary; and large towns afford an abundance of 
manure, and artificial fertilizers are of ready access. 

Successful market-gardening demands the exercise, not only 
of the highest agricultural skill, but also of sound judgment in 
many other respects. The market-gardener must not only know 
what kind of crops are in themselves best adapted to his soil 
and climate, but how to cultivate them. He must study care- 
fully the question as to what kinds will be demanded in his own 
immediate market, and at what particular season they will bring 
the best prices ; and he must see to it that his products are 
ready at that time. Moreover, most of his crops are perishable 
in their nature, and so must be sold at once, or they are of no 
value. A few days' difference in time will often make all the 
difference between a great profit and a great loss. He should 
also so arrange a rotation in his crops that he may have one 
kind or another all through the season. His land will, indeed, 
have to do double duty, and must therefore receive double care ; 
but it will give him more than quadruple results. There is one 
leading principle which he should always keep in mind : to 
grow those crops which will pay best in his special location, 
and with a part of the money which he receives in payment 
purchase what else he needs or wishes. 

Long as is the list of garden vegetables, there can be no 
doubt that it may with profit be greatly extended. There are 
many excellent species and varieties perfectly adapted to one or 
another of our various climates which are wholly unknown in 
our markets. It is not many years since the tomato — one of 



68 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



the most valuable of all — was thought to be not only useless as 
food, but positively poisonous. Now and then a plant might be 
seen in cultivation for the sake of its brilliantly- colored fruit, 
which were known as " love-apples ;" but children were carefully 
warned not to eat them. If, now, the value of all the tomatoes 
consumed — raw, cooked, or canned — could be stated, the amount 
would be sufficient to give it a high place among our garden' 
products. 

But it is not merely — not even chiefly — to the introduction 
of new species that the attention of the horticulturist should be 
directed. Very few of our garden vegetables are edible in their 
wild or native state. All of them, as we know them, are the 
result of human cultivation ; and it is by no means probable 
that in respect to any one of them has the highest possible de- 
velopment been attained. Moreover, like all other partly arti- 
ficial vegetable productions, they have a constant tendency to 
" run out " w T hen long raised from the same stock. A variety 
may succeed unexceptionably for a number of years in some lo- 
calities, and then rapidly degenerate there, while the same vari- 
ety will take, so to speak, a new lease of life when transferred to 
another locality. The " breeding " of plants is as important as 
the breeding of animals, although the laws which govern it are 
not as yet so well understood. As yet the science is mainly an 
experimental one — an art, indeed, rather than a science; but so 
numerous and well-directed have the experiments become, that 
we may confidently hope that the governing laws will be discov- 
ered, and so the art will become a science. The horticulturist 
who in any degree practically aids in attaining this result can 
hardly fail to receive a due pecuniary reward for his labor. 

Berries, etc. — The smaller fruits — such as currants, straw- 
berries, blackberries, raspberries, and the like — are garden prod- 
ucts, except when they are found growing wild ; and although 
the wild fruit is valuable, the garden fruit far exceeds it in size 
and productiveness, and usually in flavor. Some of the choicest 
varieties of the blackberry and raspberry seem to have been 
originally produced by accident — that is, without man's aid. 
Some one discovered an unusually fine bush growing wild ; he 



PRODUCTS OF THE GARDEN. 



69 



transplanted it, and by cultivation its good qualities were still 
further developed, transmitted to other generations of the plant, 
and so perpetuated. 

The Blackberry, as a garden fruit, is the result of such an 
accident. A few years ago a remarkably fine bush was discov- 
ered growing wild near New Rochelle, a few miles from the city 
of New York. The discoverer transplanted it into his garden, 
where it flourished; and from this chance -found plant have 
sprung almost all of this fruit now grown. 

The Cranberry is strictly a swamp-plant, but is also raised 
to some extent in gardens, where the soil is moist ; but it re- 
quires that the beds into which the plant is set should have a 
thick coating of swamp-muck. Most of the cranberries of our 
markets are grown in a few swampy localities in five or six 
counties of New Jersey and Massachusetts. There are few 
acres of ground which can be made as profitable as a good 
cranberry- swamp. The fine flavor of this berry places it at the 
head of our acid berries. 

The Currant is a very hardy shrub, and will grow fairly in 
almost any soil. Perhaps it is on this very account that so 
little attention has been given to its cultivation. Yet so excel- 
lent is the fruit, and so abundant its yield, that it ranks highest 
among our bush-fruits. Physicians whose practice lies in hos- 
pitals and asylums, and among children, welcome the arrival of 
the currant season, for the ripe fruit is one of the best prevent- 
ives of what are known as " summer complaints." Moreover, 
the currant is less perishable than most other berries, so that 
the producer is less dependent upon an immediate sale, and any 
overplus of the yield can be profitably converted into jams and 
jellies. The currant season lasts longer than that of any other 
of our berries. This fruit is eminently worthy of the attention 
of the horticulturist, especially if a part of his land is not of 
the highest character. The plant will pay for itself anywhere, 
but will pay best where it is best treated. 

The Gooseberry has not found much favor among us, the 
fruit being peculiarly liable to a destructive kind of "mould." 
English horticulturists have a fancy for raising gooseberries of 



70 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



"enormous size for exhibition. To effect this they leave only a 
few berries on the bush, and carefully support each of them so 
that it does not hang by the stem. The unripe fruit is some- 
what used for pies and tarts ; but even for this use the rhubarb, 
or " pie-plant," is preferable, and is far more easily raised. Per- 
haps some valuable variety may be developed ; but until this is 
the case the culture of the gooseberry for market is not likely 
to prove profitable. 

The Raspberry is deservedly a favorite berry. There are nu- 
merous species, differing widely in the color and even the flavor 
of the fruit; but nearly all of them are hardy and prolific, and 
may be grown with profit both for home consumption and for 
market. 

The Strawberry. — This, the most delicious of our berries, has 
some peculiarities which call for a higher degree of practised 
skill than is required for most other garden fruits. But this 
skill may be attained by any observant gardener ; and the berry 
is among the most profitable of all when judiciously grown and 
marketed. The plant is frequently raised directly from the seed, 
and valuable varieties are numerous. Some of these varieties 
produce very large berries, but the flavor of these is usually in- 
ferior to those of a moderate size. 

The Whortleberry. — As far as we know, no attempt has been 
made to cultivate this wide-spread berry, varieties of which flour- 
ish in every climate, from Florida to Maine, and at every eleva- 
tion, from a sea-coast swamp to the very summit of Mount Wash- 
ington. There are various species of the plant, bearing various 
local names, from a dwarf vine of only an inch high to a bush 
of eight or ten feet. Berries of excellent flavor, and in almost 
unlimited quantities, can be had in many sections merely for the 
picking, and large quantities of these wild berries are brought to 
all our markets. There seems to be no reason to doubt that 
this berry, excellent as it is, may be improved by cultivation ; 
and the experiment is certainly worth trying. The fruit is 
among the least perishable of all our berries, and is, therefore, 
specially adapted for preserving or drying. It is also one of the 
few berries the flavor of which is not impaired by cooking. 



PRODUCTS OF THE GARDEN. 



71 



The Melon, in its various species, is a profitable garden prod- 
uct where the climate and soil are adapted to it, and where a 
market is readily accessible. Except for home consumption, 
New Jersey and the southern part of New York are the north- 
ern limits where they will ordinarily be found profitable. Most 
of the melons sold in our markets are brought from the South. 
These are not unfrequently picked while wholly unripe, and left 
to ripen in the transit, and this kind of " ripening " is often only 
another name for rotting. 

Floriculture. 

The cultivation of flowers, not merely for personal gratifica- 
tion, but as a gainful employment, is almost a new avocation 
among us. Flower-markets have, indeed, long existed in New 
Orleans and other Southern cities, but anything worthy the 
name has not been known in the North until within a few years. 
But floriculture has of late grown into an important industry, 
although we find no notice of it in the Census Report (of 1880), 
except the bare mention that there were in all the States 4550 
"florists," of whom 4,320 were males and 230 females, and that 
the number of children between ten and fifteen was only 82. 
One needs, however, only to walk along the streets of any of 
our cities to perceive that the arranging and selling of flowers, 
either in pots or " cut " for bouquets and for festal and funeral 
occasions, gives gainful employment to a much more considera- 
ble number of persons. 

Flowers are, to a very large extent, grown in greenhouses, 
which are merely covered gardens, in which a summer tempera, 
ture is maintained in the winter, thus supplying fresh flowers in 
the coldest weather. The cultivation of flowers for gain is con- 
fined mainly to the vicinity of large cities. The supply for New 
York — apart from the comparatively few produced in its own 
greenhouses — comes mainly from New Jersey. The sort of 
flowers profitable for cultivation depends somewhat upon the 
fluctuations in fashion ; a kind of rose, for example, which is a 
special favorite one season being not unfrequently quite neg- 
lected the next season. 

5 



72 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



The cultivation of flowers for use in perfumery and cos- 
metics is altogether unknown in the United States, although in 
India, Persia, Turkey, and some parts of Europe, especially in 
France, it has long been carried on very largely ; and fats and 
oils saturated with the perfume of flowers are a not inconsidera- 
ble article of import into the United States. It is not improb- 
able that recent chemical discoveries, by which the most delicate 
odors of flowers are so closely imitated as to defy detection ex- 
cept by an expert, will greatly check this branch of floriculture. 
But there is no reason to believe that the taste for flowers them- 
selves, and the consequent demand for them, will diminish ; and 
most likely it will increase very greatly. Consequently, it may 
be safely assumed that floriculture is among the most promising 
of the minor industries which can be carried on in the vicinity 
of large cities. 

In considering the benefits to be derived from the far wider 
extension of garden culture, whether of vegetables or flowers, a 
very important point is, that it would greatly enlarge the sphere 
of gainful labor for women. We do not desire — and certainly 
do not expect — that the time will ever come when women among 
us will be largely engaged in the common, laborious out-door 
work of the farm, as they are in some parts of Europe. But gar- 
dening furnishes much out-door gainful employment in which, 
even according to American ideas, women may appropriately en- 
gage. To plant and weed a garden -patch, and to gather its 
products, involves nothing more unfeminine than to tend a 
flower-bed or water a geranium-pot ; and even the more labori- 
ous parts of garden -work are less severe than cooking and 
washing, to say nothing of scrubbing and scouring. They in- 
volve less physical exertion, and that of a more healthful kind, 
than standing behind a counter, sitting at the sewing-machine, 
or working in a factory. 

From whatever stand-point we look at the matter, we reach 
the same result : that gardening opens one of the widest fields 
among us for profitable cultivation. Closely connected with the 
" Products of the Garden " are the " Products of the Orchard/' 
which forms the subject of the next chapter. 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



73 



CHAPTER VIII. 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



HE various tropical and sub -tropical fruits, such as the 



JL banana, plantain, bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, and date, appear 
to be found very nearly in their natural condition, without hav- 
ing undergone any great change through cultivation. Some of 
these are of great importance in the regions where they flourish, 
constituting the main food of the people. The banana, or plan- 
tain, furnishes more food per acre than any other plant. Ac- 
cording to Humboldt an area of ground which will yield iooo 
pounds of potatoes will, in its own climate, yield 44,000 pounds 
of bananas ; a surface bearing wheat enough to feed one person 
will, when planted with bananas, feed twenty-five persons. The 
fruit of the date-palm constitutes the chief article of food on 
the northern coast of Africa, in Arabia, and Persia. Each well- 
grown date -tree will yield from one hundred-weight to four hun- 
dred-weight per year, the dried fruit containing 58 per cent, of 
sugar, combined with gum, pectine, etc. In Egypt each date-tree 
is registered, and pays a special tax, which forms a considerable 
part of the revenues of the Government, and is, perhaps, the 
most burdensome tax imposed in any country. The cocoa-nut 
and bread-fruit are valuable where they will grow. But none of 
these tropical or sub-tropical fruits will, probably, flourish any- 
where in the United States, with the exception, perhaps, of 
Southern Florida. 

None of the fruits grown among us — with the exception of 
the grape and a few wild plums — are indigenous to this conti- 
nent, but have been introduced from the Old World ; but many 
of them have here found a habitat more congenial than their 




74 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



original homes. Although most of them are still found in the 
Old World in their wild state, they are, as we know them, the 
product of cultivation ; but this cultivation often goes back to a 
period earlier than recorded history, and pagan myths attribute 
it to one or another of the gods. 

Fruit -culture has as yet received far less attention among us 
than it deserves, and far less, it may be confidently predicted, 
than it will receive in the immediate future ; for it is affirmed by 
all competent authorities that fruits, either in their natural state 
or cooked, should form a much larger proportion of the food of 
our people than they have ever done. And there is every reason 
to believe that the growing of fruits will, in the future, become 
one of our most remunerative industries. 

Since 1850 the Census Reports have undertaken to give the 
value of the Orchard Products for each census year. Table VII. 
gives the results, in this respect, for the thirty years preceding, 
and including, 1880: 



TABLE VIL— VALUE OF ORCHARD PRODUCTS, 1850, i860, 1870, 1880. 



State. 



Ala.. . . 
Ariz. . . 
Ark. . . 
Cal... . 
Col.. . . 
Conn. . 
Dak. . . 
Del.. . . 
D. C. . . 
Florida 
Ga. .. 
Idaho 
Illinois 
Ind... . 
Iowa. . 
Kan. . . 
Ky.... 
La. . . . 
Maine . 
Md... . 
Mass. . 
Mich. . 
Minn. . 



1880. 



Dollars, 
362,263 
5,530 
867,426 
2,017,314 
3,246 
456,246 
156 
846,692 
12,074 
758,295 
782,972 
23,147 
3,502,583 
2,757,359 
1,494,365 
358,860 
1,377,670 
188,604 
1,112,026 
1,563,188 
1,005,303 
2,760,677 
121,648 



1870. 



Dollars. 
37,590 
2,850 
55,697 
1,059,779 
9 

599,718 



1,226,893 
6,781 
53,639 
352,926 
725 
3,571,789 
2,858,086 
1,075,169 
158,046 
1,231,385 
142,129 
874,569 
1,319,405 
939,854 
3,447,985 
15,818 



carry over, carry over, carry over, c'y over. 



1S60. 



Dollars. 
223,312 



56,025 
754,236 



508,848 



114,225 
9,980 
21,259 
176,048 



1,126,323 
1,258,242 
118,377 
656 
604,849 
114,339 
501,767 
252,196 
925,519 
1,122,074 
649 



1850. 



Dollars. 
15,408 



40,141 
17,700 



175,118 



46,574 
14,843 
1,280 
92,776 



446,049 
324,940 
8,434 



106,230 
22,359 
342,865 
164,051 
463,995 
132,650 



State. 



Miss.. . 
Mo... . 
Mont... 
Neb. . . 
Nev. . . 
NT. H.. . 
N. J. . . 
N.Mex. 
N. Y.. . 
N. C. . . 
Ohio . . 
Oregon 
Pa. . . . 
R. I. . . 
S. C. . . 
Tenn... 
Texas . 
Utah. . 
Vt. . . . 
Va. . . . 
Wash.. 
W. Va. 
Wis. . . 



1SS0. 



Dollars. 

378,145 
1,812,873 
1,530 
72,244 
3,619 
972,291 
860,090 
26,706 
8,409,794 
903,513 
3,576,242 
583,663 
4,862,826 
58,751 
78,934 
919,844 
876,844 
148,493 
640,942 
1,609,663 
127,668 
934,400 
639,435 



1870. 



Dollars. 

71,018 
2,617,452 



9,932 
900 
743,552 
1,295,282 
13,609 
8,347,417 
394,749 
5,843,679 
719,875 
4,208,094 
43,036 
47,960 
571,520 
69,172 
43,938 
682,241 
891,231 
71,863 
848,773 
819,268 



50,876,154 47,335,189 19,991,885 7,723,186 



18G0. 



Dollars. 
254,718 
810,975 



125 



537,934 
429,402 
19,751 
3,726.780 
643,688 
1,929,309 
478,479 
1,479,937 
83,691 
213,989 
305,003 
48,047 
9,281 
211,693 
800,650 
20,619 



f8,690 



1S50. 



Dollars. 

50,405 
514,711 



248,563 
607,268 
8,231 
1,761,950 
34,348 
695,921 
1,271 
723,389 
63,994 
35,108 
52,894 
12,505 



315,255 
177,137 



4,823 



In the Census Report of 1870 (as heretofore said) the values 
are expressed in " currency," which, for the purpose of compar- 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



75 



ison with other years, should be reduced to its gold value by a 
deduction of one-fifth. The real value of the orchard products 
of 1870, instead of being $47,855,189, was $37,868,151, in gold. 
The same deduction should be made in the values for 1870 in 
each of the States. It thus appears that the increase in the 
value of orchard products from 1850 to i860 was 159 per cent; 
from i860 to 1870 it was 89 per cent.; from 1870 to 1880 it was 
34 per cent. — the ratio of increase being a little more than that 
of the increase of population. It will be seen, also, from the ta- 
ble that in the vast fruit-growing regions of the Central, North- 
eastern, and older Western States there was a very considerable 
relative decrease in the value of the orchard products of 1880 as 
compared with those of 1870. In some of these States there 
was an absolute decrease. Thus, the product in Delaware, Ken- 
tucky, and New Jersey fell off, while Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, 
and New York barely held their own. But this decrease was 
more than compensated by the extraordinary increase in Cal- 
ifornia and in nearly all of the Southern States. From 1870 to 
1880 the orchard products of California doubled; in Georgia they 
increased nearly threefold ; in Mississippi, sixfold ; in Alabama, 
elevenfold ; in Florida, fifteenfold ; in Texas, sixteenfold ; in Ar- 
kansas, seventeenfold. Taking the whole Union through, and 
notwithstanding the bad Northern and Western fruit-year 1880, 
the increase in orchard products from 1870 to 1880 has more 
than kept up with the increase of population. And nothing can 
be more certain than that this increase will go on for a long 
course of years ; for the taste for fruit is so natural, and its grat- 
ification so healthful, that the demand for it must inevitably 
increase. The value of the orchard products in 1880 being 
$50,876,154, and the population numbering 50,155,783, there 
was almost exactly a dollar's worth for each individual ; and, 
making the highest possible estimate for imported fruits, each 
person in the United States does not consume fruit to the 
amount of a dollar and a half a year — less than three cents a 
week. 

There is not, probably, a single valuable fruit grown in any 
part of Europe or in the temperate regions of Asia which may 



76 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



not be successfully reared in some portion of the United States. 
We give some account of the leading fruits, noting the main 
sections of the country which, by reason of climate and soil, are 
best fitted for their successful cultivation : grouping them into 
two divisions, Northern and Southern. 

Northern Fruits. 
The Apple. — The apple-tree, as we know it, has been devel- 
oped by cultivation from the sour and almost inedible "crab- 
apple" of England. It was brought over by the earliest emi- 
grants, who here found every condition favorable to its growth, 
and for some generations the apple-tree hardly needed any cul- 
tivation. The soil of New England and New York was com- 
posed of decayed trees and their foliage, thickly covered with 
the ashes of the primitive woods ; while the greater portion of 
the country was still sheltered by the primeval forests, which 
mitigated the keen winds of winter and early spring, afford- 
ing protection to the apple. The snows apparently fell more 
heavily than now, or at least lay longer upon the ground, pro- 
tecting roots of the fruit-trees from the frost, and retarding pre- 
mature blossoming. Other fruit-trees shared in these advan- 
tages ; so that it was far easier a century ago to raise fine 
peaches in Southern New Hampshire than it now is in South- 
ern New York. 

The apple constitutes, and must constitute, the most valuable 
orchard product of the more northern part of the United States ; 
while the orange will be the special fruit of the most southern 
portion, upon the Atlantic side, and of Southern California as 
far north as the latitude of North Carolina, and Tennessee ; the 
peach lying intermediate between them, south of the apple zone, 
and north of the orange zone. 

That the apple -orchards of New England and New York 
have failed rapidly for several decades is unquestioned. But the 
causes of this failure have been wholly misunderstood. Upon 
this point, and indeed upon most others connected with the 
apple, we cite, with abridgments required by our space, Mr. 
Todd's admirable Apple Culturist. He says: 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



77 



" The failure of apple-orchards is a matter of common conversation in all 
localities where apples are cultivated. In the majority of instances it is as- 
sumed that apple-trees fail to produce such crops as were once raised in certain 
localities because the varieties are running out. The assumption is erroneous. 
If the same quality of soil can be secured, with the same surroundings as to 
protection by forests, and if the cions from the topmost boughs of old trees that 
have once borne bountiful crops of fine fruit, but have now failed, could be set 
in young stocks, as hardy as those which were employed seventy or eighty years 
ago, we should see trees loaded with just as fine fruit as those old trees ever 
produced. There is a limit to productiveness of all kinds, vegetable or animal. 
Old animals cease to bear young ; forest-trees reach the limit of their growth, 
and decay. Durham cattle die ; but the breed, the variety, does not deteriorate. 
So with fruit-trees. If the old trees cease to bear, and die, the variety of the 
fruit does not fail, if cions of the branches be set in young stocks." 

Mr. Todd affirms — and proves — that the trouble in respect 
to the orchard lies in the treatment of the growing trees. He 
sets forth the chief of the errors in their treatment. We sum- 
marize his principal points : 

" i. Fourscore years ago the stocks into which the cions were set were pro- 
duced from more hardy varieties than they now are. 2. Then, the fruit-trees 
were set in a virgin soil, which had been bountifully top-dressed with unleached 
ashes, an almost indispensable requisite for the production of fine fruit. Now, 
inferior trees are planted in an inferior soil, without wood-ashes and other nec- 
essary fertilizing materials. 3. Then, almost every orchard was shielded by a 
belt of forest-trees. Now, cold and fierce winds sweep over the country for a 
long distance, raking young orchards in a fearful manner. 4. A large propor- 
tion of the orchards have been ruined by mismanagement. The soil having 
become impoverished by yielding a long succession of bountiful crops, and the 
trees beginning to show signs of starvation, resort was had to a stupid mode of 
pruning. Half, or even more, of the entire top was rudely cut off, including 
limbs six or eight inches in diameter, making wounds so large that they could 
never heal over. Hence the trunk began to decay at the heart, often becoming 
quite hollow." 

The section on the "starving out" of apple-trees is especially 
worthy of careful consideration. A young orchard is planted, 
and forthwith sown to a grain crop ; and year after year the tops 
of the young trees rise just above the growing grain ; yet the 
land is expected to bear as much of other crops as though no 
fruit-trees were upon it. After due time, perhaps half or two- 
thirds of the apple-trees will be found to have survived this early 



78 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



starvation, and to bear a little fruit. Then a little mercy is 
shown to the trees : the orchard is seeded down, and after one or 
two mowings is converted into a pasture ; but the idea of manur- 
ing an orchard never occurs. No attempt is made to restore the 
elements exhausted by the production of the crop. " The soil is 
robbed of its nutritive properties year after year ; no new supply 
is furnished : and out of nothing, nothing comes. The practical 
lesson is obvious : we must feed our fruit-trees, if we expect 
them to feed us." 

Fruit-trees and their fruit are, like all cultivated crops, ex- 
posed to the attacks of insects and other depredators. Mr. 
Todd devotes due space to the methods more or less success- 
fully employed to get rid of these destroyers, but the main result 
is briefly enough summed up : 

" New depredators have been visiting our fruit-trees every season for a num- 
ber of years past ; and for years to come others, now unknown, will probably 
appear. There may be some remedy discovered to head them off; but the 
most reliable one of all will be, 'Catch 'em and kill 'em.' All through the 
growing season every employe on the premises should be instructed, whenever 
he sees noxious insects at work, to drop all other employment, and 'catch 'em 
and kill 'em.' We have tried the 'Shoo-fly!' remedy quite too long, without 
any satisfactory results. If we drive them away, they are back to their work 
of devastation before we can return. But if we 'catch 'em and kill 'em' they 
never have a resurrection." 

Various modes of catching and killing these pests are set 
forth; and the fruit-grower can in no w T ay earn more money 
in a few hours than by making himself master of this chapter 
of the Apple Culturist. 

The apple-tree, like every other, finds some soils specially 
adapted to it. The best soil is where there is a liberal supply 
of both clay and sand ; for without these they will not yield 
abundantly for any long time. A good, fertile loam, which 
supplies both, is excellent, or a deep, alluvial soil, if of the right 
character. If the soil is wanting in one of these elements, the 
deficiency must be supplied. If one of them is in excess, the 
other must be added as a counteractive. If there be too much 
clay, add sand ; if too much sand, add clay, and so on. More- 
over, continues Mr. Todd, emphatically : 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



79 



" Pile on also gas-house lime, old lime, and quick-lime ; leached and un- 
leached coal ashes ; chip-dirt, sawdust, fertile street-dirt ; scrapings of the ma- 
nure-yard, tan-bark, leather-shavings, refuse of woollen-mills, and all such kind of 
material as can be secured. It will pay to cart sawdust two miles to put around 
apple-trees, as such material will furnish much of the best quality of food for 
the hungry roots of growing trees. Good barn-yard manure is also excellent 
for growing trees, and there is no danger of applying too much of it. But all 
such articles should be worked into the soil, where the roots can feed on such 
portions as will promote the growth of the trees and the development of the 
fruit." 

The Apple Culturist does not content itself with dogmat- 
ically putting forth these and such-like directions ; it shows the 
reasons for them, based, not only upon actual experience, but 
upon scientific principles. For all the purposes of fruit-culture 
it is a thorough hand-book of agricultural chemistry. While, 
as above, the author affirms that, in the case of the apple-tree, 
" there is no danger of applying too much manure," he is careful 
to qualify the statement in so far as the peach and its kindred 
are concerned. These, he says, " will not bear a high fertility, 
because, being brought originally from warmer countries, they 
are liable to suffer from the frosts of winter, and are stimulated 
to grow too late in the season, and the frost strikes them when 
the wood is immature." The subjects of planting and trans- 
planting fruit-trees, and the proper modes of pruning, are fully 
treated. 

All choice varieties of the apple are produced from grafted 
trees. Given a suitable soil and proper culture, a sound stock 
upon which to graft, and a cion from a tree capable of bearing 
the desired variety of fruit, and yet a skilful grafting is required 
to insure the desired result. The chapter devoted to this sub- 
ject is so clearly expressed and so fully illustrated by delin- 
eations of every necessary implement and appliance, and the 
manner of using them, that it requires only a reasonable amount 
of intelligence, and a fair degree of manual dexterity, for any 
fruit-grower to do his own grafting and budding. By so quali- 
fying himself he will be able to dispense with the at best ques- 
tionable services of those itinerant grafters who are more likely 
than not to be wholly unfit for the work they undertake. 



80 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



The special value of the apple arises partly from the intrinsic 
excellence of the fruit, and partly from its permanence. Our 
earliest apples ripen in June or July; some "winter" sorts will 
keep until the following summer. So that there is no day in 
the year in which apples are not to be had. The real value of 
the apple, even in a mere pecuniary point of view, is too little 
appreciated. We again quote from the Apple Culturist, the 
writer speaking especially of Western New York, "where," as 
he says, " the tree is hardy and healthy, and the fruit comes 
nearest to perfection," although what is affirmed holds good 
for a much greater extent of country : 

" No other trees can be relied upon for a regular supply of choice fruit, with 
such certainty of a crop, as the apple-tree ; and there is no other kind of fruit 
that can be made to mature during such a long succession of months. They 
are excellent while in a crude state, and superb when cooked in a score of 
different ways. By no earthly process can so much nutriment be so cheaply 
extracted from four square rods of ground as by planting an apple-tree in its 
centre, and giving it good cultivation. Every family that is in possession of 
only a few roods of good ground should have a succession of apples suited to 
every season of the year. If a person has the land, there can be no possible 
excuse for not having a bountiful supply of superior fruit in from six to ten 
years, unless we except the pretext so often urged, of a 'want of time' to 
cultivate the trees. But every man fritters away every season far more time 
than would be required to plant an orchard and to take care of the number of 
trees requisite to supply his family with apples during the entire year. They 
are unlike the more perishable fruits, as pears, peaches, and plums, which must 
be consumed to-day, or they will be worthless to-morrow. The choice varieties 
are now so numerous that, by proper management, in our latitude, any family 
that will appropriate only a part of one acre to a few trees which mature in 
succession may begin to gather ripe apples in July, while they have still in their 
cellar a small supply of last year's apples." 

The writer enumerates nearly a score and a half of well- 
known varieties, " which will furnish a succession from the mid- 
dle of July of one year to the same period — or even later — of 
the following year." Among the varieties enumerated are the 
Early Harvest, the Tallman Sweeting, the Early Chandler, the 
Fall Orange, the Rhode Island Greening, the Ladies' Sweet, the 
Baldwin, the Summer Pearmain, the Early Strawberry, the None- 
such, the Summer Pippin, the Roxbury Russet. " One tree of 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



81 



each of the foregoing varieties," it is added, ki if properly culti- 
vated, would supply a small family with all the fruit they would 
need during the year, before the trees are half -grown. Those 
who desire extensive orchards can add other varieties to suit 
the locality or the market" 

Much of all the foregoing will apply, in many respects, to the 
peach, the pear, the plum, etc. It was written, however, before 
the culture of the orange in California and Florida had assumed 
its present great importance, and its still greater promise for the 
future. Not improbably the apple and the orange will share be- 
tween them the joint sovereignty over the realm of American 
fruit-culture — the apple being king in the North, and the orange 
being queen in the South. 

The Pear. — The wild pear-tree, found in the temperate parts 
of Asia, is hardly more than a shrub. The fruit was known to 
the Romans before the beginning of the Christian era, but was 
not much relished unless cooked. The delicious varieties which 
we know as the Seckel, the Vergaloo, the Bartlett, etc., are the 
result of modern cultivation. The general conditions for the 
cultivation of the pear are very similar to those of the apple. 
The pear is grown as a standard tree, or is budded upon its own 
seedlings, or upon the quince, etc. Some pears are best if picked 
before fully mature and suffered to ripen in the house. The 
coarser varieties are used mainly for cooking or canning. Many 
of the finest varieties are grown as dwarfs. The best are grown 
in Southern New York, New Jersey, and especially in Califor- 
nia, where the fruit attains a great size without losing its flavor. 

The Peach. — The peach-tree flourishes in the middle region 
of the temperate zone on both continents, although not indige- 
nous on this. It can be grown in England only as a wall-fruit. 
Its cultivation was formerly carried as far north as Central New 
York and Southern New England; but its boundaries have 
gradually receded southward. The best peaches are now pro- 
duced upon Long Island, in New Jersey, and especially in Del- 
aware and portions of Maryland. Farther South, as in Virginia, 
the peach is much used for the distillation of what is known as 
" peach -brandy." The best peaches are perhaps the most deli- 



82 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



cious of our fruits. But they are quite perishable individually, 
although different varieties ripen at different periods, so that the 
fruit is in market for several months in the year. Large quanti- 
ties are preserved by drying and canning ; and the disadvantages 
arising from the perishable nature of the fruit are thus partly 
obviated. The cultivation of the peach for the market upon a 
small scale is not likely to be profitable, except in few and lim- 
ited localities; but large peach- orchards have been found to 
afford a very lucrative investment for capital and labor. To 
secure this result, however, depends quite as much upon mar- 
keting the fruit as upon growing it. 

The Cherry. — Our cultivated cherries, of which there are 
many varieties, belong to species introduced from the Old World. 
There are numerous varieties of wild cherry-trees on both con- 
tinents. In the United States the chief varieties of wild-cherry 
are the " choke -cherry," a mere shrub, and the " black -cherry," 
a large tree, which produces valuable timber, much used in cab- 
inet-work. Some of the cultivated species are excellent fruits ; 
but the crop is rather uncertain. 

Plums. — The various species of plums do not, as yet, form 
any considerable part of the orchard products of the United 
States. Two or three species of wild-plum, which are now cul- 
tivated to some extent, were about the only fruit, excepting 
grapes, known to the aborigines of North America. In many 
parts of Europe plums, or " stone-fruit," are largely grown. The 
dried fruit of several species goes under the general name of 
"prunes," or "prunelles," and forms an important article of con- 
sumption and export from France, Germany, Spain, and Turkey. 
The French prunes, which are considered the best, are mainly 
the product of what is locally known as the St. Julian plum. 
The production of dried plums, or prunes, has been begun in 
California, with quite satisfactory results. 

The gathering of fruit — especially of apples — deserves more 
consideration than it usually receives. Care is required, in the 
first place, not to injure the tree itself. In case the fruit has 
been blown off, or has fallen of itself from the tree, it is too 
late for care in this respect. There is skill required for pick- 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



83 



ing an apple even by hand. "Beginners," says The Apple 
Culturist — 

" Should be taught how to pick an apple or pear, when the stem separates 
with difficulty, so as not to break off the fruit-spurs, or injure the buds which 
are to produce the next year's crop. There is a proper place for every stem to 
separate from the spur. A straight pull will often remove pieces of the twig 
several inches in length. When fruits are shaken off they often take long 
pieces of wood with them. These have to be separated from the fruit, and it 
is far better to take a little pains and leave the wood on the tree. When the 
apple is to be plucked apply the thumb-nail to the stem at the proper place for 
separation, and break the stem across the nail. Much damage is often done to 
fruit-trees in gathering the fruit. Large branches are trodden on and barked, 
small ones are broken, and, in violently shaking the trees, fruit -spurs are 
broken off." 

Much fruit will hang where it cannot be reached by the 
hand. To gather this one needs a " fruit-plucker." This can be 
readily constructed by bend- 
ing a stout wire about thir- 
ty-two inches long, into the 
shape shown at a in the cut ; 
the two ends being brought 
together, drive them into a 
light pole, like a broom-han- 
dle ; then to the wire attach a sack large enough to hold six 
or eight apples, and you have the fruit-plucker shown in the 
illustration. The fruit is pulled off by the narrow loop-end of 
the plucker. It is well to have three or four of these, with 
handles of different lengths, say from five to twelve feet. 

The chief point, so far as the fruit is concerned, is to prevent 
its being bruised, either in picking or subsequently. The fruit 
itself possesses a kind of vitality, not only in the seed, but in the 
pulp and skin. Deprived of this vitality, all that is valuable is 
gone. A rotten apple, or one that has been frozen and thawed, 
has no vitality left except in the seed. But it should be borne 
in mind that an apple does not freeze until the temperature is 
from five to ten degrees below the freezing-point of water. It 
is well, indeed, to keep winter apples where the temperature is 
close down to the freezing-point of water. 




84 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Just as a bruise tends to destroy the vitality of the human 
system and induce decay of the bruised parts, so even the 
apparently superficial bruising of an apple or other fruit causes 
it speedily to rot. The slightest abrasion of the skin, or the 
crushing the cells of the pulp containing the juice, induces 
fermentation and decomposition, and the consequent decay of 
the whole mass. There is every reason to apprehend that an 
apple which falls from the tree will be badly bruised. And 
therefore, says the Apple Culturist — 

" For this reason hand-picking should be practised in preference to any 
other mode, if the fruit is to be kept for spring and summer use. When 
picked lay those designed for long keeping carefully in the basket with the 
hand, instead of throwing them in. Winter apples should not be poured from 
one basket to another, any more than eggs should be. Nor should they be 
handled in full bags, for they will be bruised in these more than in any other 
receptacle." 

For the preservation of winter apples the essential thing is, 
that they should be kept in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated place. 
The best means of treating them before cold weather sets in is 
to place them upon a floor a few feet above the ground, with a 
roof overhead, and ventilating openings in the sides, sufficient 
to permit a free circulation of air at all times. Most cellars 
are too close and damp for apples until after the weather has 
become cold and freezing. In a cellar where apples are to be 
kept the temperature should never be allowed to quite reach 
the freezing-point of water (3 2° Fahr.). 

The preservation of fruits by canning is an important indus- 
try. Apples, indeed, keep so well, that though often dried they 
are rarely canned. But the value of the peach, pear, and plum 
crop is greatly enhanced by this process, since by it large quan- 
tities of these fruits, as well as of the more perishable vegetables 
— such as tomatoes — are saved, which would otherwise have 
been lost. Very ingenious machinery has been devised for the 
manufacture of the tinned cans at a small cost. But for many 
kinds all metallic cans are objectionable, and for some, espe- 
cially for pickles, they are wholly inadmissible. The great ob- 
jection to the ordinary tinned cans is, that the solder used is 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



85 



composed mainly of lead ; and lead, when acted upon by an 
acid, produces a very dangerous poison. Glass cans would be 
in every respect preferable to tinned ones, and they are much 
used. The main thing to be desired in this respect is the 
devising of some method by which glass cans may be quickly 
and effectively sealed. It would seem that this is a mechanical 
problem presenting no serious difficulty. 

While the canning of fruits for market will be mainly carried 
on in large establishments, every family which raises any of the 
suitable fruits or vegetables should be able to thus preserve suf- 
ficient for its own consumption, and perhaps even more. This 
would be a not unimportant addition to our paying industries ; 
for any process which saves anything which would otherwise be 
lost, or secures a new use for an article already produced, is in 
so far a profitable one. 

One other aspect of fruit -culture is worthy of consideration 
from a hygienic point of view. All fruits contain a large per- 
centage of water. In the apple there is about 80 per cent., in 
the peach and grape still more. This water is perfectly pure. 
No matter how foul may be the water which is presented to the 
roots of the tree, they reject all the impurities from the sap, 
which consists of pure water, only sweetened, acidulated, or 
flavored according to the special nature of the fruit. The 
person, therefore, who eats ripe fruit is actually drinking ; and 
to drink is as essential to life as to eat. It is even more imme- 
diately essential ; for a person can survive nearly as many days 
without eating as he can survive hours without drinking. A 
person who on a hot summer day eats two or three apples or 
peaches, or a handful of grapes, actually drinks a gobletful of 
water ; and the sensation of thirst will thereby be quite as 
effectually allayed. Among the most prevalent causes of dis- 
ease in many localities is the impurity of the drinking-water. 
Many persons, moreover, find, in travelling, that certain water, 
though not deleterious to those accustomed to it, does not 
" agree " with them. In such cases it is better to quench the 
thirst by a free use of fruit, if it is to be had, than by drinking 
doubtful water or fermented or distilled liquors. 



86 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



From the fruits especially belonging to the Northern por- 
tions of the United States we proceed to those which belong 
more especially to the Southern portions. 

Southern Fi'tiits. 

The Orange. — The orange -tree is, apparently, of tropical 
origin. At all events it now flourishes in South America di- 
rectly under the equator. It was not known in Europe until 
the eleventh century, when it was introduced into Spain by the 
Moors. It was brought to this continent by the Spaniards and 
Portuguese. Of all the fruits brought from the Old World, the 
orange is perhaps the only one which grows wild in America, as 
it does in Florida and Brazil. 

The orange-tree is of slow growth. Fifteen years is the time 
assigned in France for an orange-tree to come into full bearing. 
Until quite recently it was believed that in California an orange- 
orchard could not be made to yield a profit under ten years. 
" But now" (1882), says Mr. Nordhoff, our best authority on this 
point, " by the method of budding, dwarf - trees are produced 
which begin to bear in five years from the bud, and yield paying 
crops in six years." But he adds that "farther experience is 
required to establish whether these budded trees will be as long- 
lived or as full-bearing as seedlings and standards ; but they 
seem, at any rate, to shorten the period of waiting for a prof- 
itable orchard." Probably both methods of propagation will be 
adopted, under different circumstances. In either case there is 
every certainty that the orange-culture in California and Flor- 
ida will in the future be an exceedingly profitable one. There 
is no reason to doubt that in Alabama, Arkansas, and the ad- 
jacent States, orange-culture will be profitable. 

Until within a very few years all the oranges consumed in 
the United States were imported mainly from the shores of 
the Mediterranean and the West Indies. In 1874 there were 
brought to New York about 130,000,000 oranges from Europe, 
and about 32,000,000 from the West Indies. Assuming that 
they brought only one cent apiece, the value of the import into 
this port was a million and a half of dollars. But as the fruit 




IRRIGATING AN ORANGE GROVE. 
See Note 3. 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



89 



has to make a long voyage, it is usually picked while quite green, 
and it does not attain its best flavor when ripened off the tree. 
The Florida or California grower need labor under no such dis- 
advantage. He can wait until his fruit is nearly ripe before 
picking it; so that it will reach the market in a much better 
condition than the foreign fruit. The sudden growth of orange- 
culture in Florida is remarkable. In 1870 the value of the en- 
tire orchard products of the State was only about $50,000 ; in 
1880 they amounted to more than $750,000 — an increase of fif- 
teenfold ; and by far the greater part of this product consisted 
of oranges. 

Mr. Nordhoff visited California in 187 1, when, as he says, 
" the question of the permanent and very great profitableness 
of the orange-culture was still open; but now (1882) it is settled." 
From his work we quote, with necessary abridgments : 

"The orange, lemon, and lime are now planted on a large scale in several 
parts of the State, and especially in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties 
(which together have an area about half as large as the State of New York), 
where they will before long form one of the chief crops. Their culture has been 
prosecuted with much intelligence, with the result that the area of suitable soil 
has been widened, and new and earlier-bearing varieties have been introduced 
or created. They do not at present succeed on the San Joaquin and Sacra- 
mento plains, and may never be a profitable crop there. But in the foot-hills, 
both in the San Joaquin and the Sacramento valleys, the orange and the lemon 
already do well. As this great foot-hill region, now containing the best and 
cheapest lands in the State, becomes settled by small farmers it will be discov- 
ered that here is the real and best fruit country of California." 

The orange - tree is certainly a most prolific bearer, even 
though one particular one — mentioned by Mr. Nordhoff — be ex- 
ceptional. This tree, he says, "bore, at thirteen years, 2250 or- 
anges, which brought the owner $74. The following year (1880) 
it bore 2050; but it had evidently overdone itself, for in 1881 it 
had less than half this number of oranges upon it." But, taking 
an average of good trees, the profits of orange-growing must be 
very large. 

"They plant," says Nordhoff, "from eighty to one hundred trees per acre. 
Eighty trees, bearing 1000 oranges each, sold at $10 per thousand, would yield 
a gross return of $800. One man can cultivate, irrigate, prune, and care for 

6 



90 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



twenty acres of any of the citrus fruits ; and the picking and boxing costs no 
more than $1.50 per thousand. The trees are long-lived, where they have good 
care, and in proper localities are not subject to serious diseases. But they re- 
quire thorough and constant culture, and the man who lets weeds dispute the 
ground with his trees will soon find his orchard diseased." 

Lemons and limes are cultivated in California, and, when the 
best varieties are grown, they are as certain and profitable as 
oranges. Lemon -trees, it is said, in order to do well, should 
be planted in sheltered localities. It was formerly held that 
orange and lemon trees should, in California, be irrigated as 
often as once in six weeks. But the best opinion now is that 
four or five applications of water is not only sufficient, but that 
the tree will be maintained in a more healthy condition. One 
of the shrewdest Californian orchardists averred that, at half a 
cent apiece, the orange crop would be the most profitable which 
a man could grow. "And he was right," says Nordhoff, "for 
half a cent each would be five dollars per thousand, which, for 
mature trees, would give a gross return of ten dollars to the 
tree, or from $800 to $1000 per acre, according to the number 
of trees planted to the acre in different localities." He acknowl- 
edges that such returns seemed to him almost incredible, and 
adds : 

" I needed, to enable me to realize the practical results, some such state- 
ment as was made to me by one of the most careful and intelligent orange- 
cultivators I met — the owner of twenty acres in a choice location. He said, 
' Last year my trees paid the whole of my family expenses for the year ; and 
that was my first crop. This year I shall make over $5000 clear. After next 
year I am planning to take my family for six months to Europe ; and I expect 
thereafter to have four or five months for travel every year, with sufficient 
means from my twenty acres to go where my wife and children may wish 
to go.' For this result he had labored, with no severe toil, for nine years in a 
delightful climate ; and I could not but compare his fortunes with those of a 
professional man or merchant — not to speak of an Eastern farmer — toiling 
severely for an equal number of years, with small hope of any such results." 

Of course, land presumed to be capable of producing such 
results will command a high price. If it did not we might be 
certain that the statements were greatly exaggerated, or that 
there was some serious drawback, either certain or to be 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



91 



apprehended. And Mr. Nordhoff fairly states the great ap- 
parent drawback in California when he says : 

" California is subject to droughts. Experience shows so far that there are 
about seven good years out of ten — that is to say, in ten years the farmer may, 
in almost any part of the State fit for general agriculture, expect to get seven 
good field crops without irrigation. Moreover, the farmer in Southern Califor- 
nia who should plant the orange, lemon, and other semi-tropical fruits needs 
water to irrigate these. For these reasons it is a very great advantage to have 
a water-supply on your place, or at least within reach. 'Be more careful to 
buy water than land,' said an experienced farmer to me — a man w r ho, beginning 
with a small capital, fifteen years ago, has now an income of $15,000 a year 
from his farm and orchards." 

It is not, according to Nordhoff, that water, except in years 
of drought, is absolutely scarce in California, or rather that the 
quantity necessary is much less than is generally supposed. 
But still, artificial irrigation is so essential that the success 
of the "colony settlements" of Southern California — such as 
Anaheim and Riverside — is attributed greatly to this. "All 
these colonies began with an irrigation - ditch ; and where water 
is thus secured the price of land at once rises from two dollars 
and a half to thirty or forty dollars an acre." The direct bear- 
ing of these considerations upon the question of the present 
condition and future prospects of orange -growing in California 
is thus summed up : 

"The practice of budding oranges and lemons has, in a measure, revolution- 
ized this culture, because budded roots bear much earlier, yielding a moderately 
profitable crop at five years • and the best and highest priced varieties are 
grown on budded stocks. And on such an assured basis is this culture now, 
that in localities where the orange and lemon are known to do well — as at 
Orange and San Gabriel, in Los Angeles County, and at Riverside, in San 
Bernardino County — orange land is now readily sold at two hundred dollars 
and more an acre — with water, of course — and is not thought dear at that 
price. But before its use was established the same land, subdivided for 
colony settlements, and with water brought to it, was thought dear at thirty- 
five dollars per acre." 

There are, however, and probably for years will be, in Cali- 
fornia large tracts of land equally fitted for the culture of the 
orange which may be purchased at a moderate rate ; and to 



92 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



these the attention of a person with only a moderate capital 
will necessarily be directed. Mr. Nordhoff says : 

"For farmers of moderate means, say from $1000 to $3000, there are in 
all parts of the State profitable and pleasant locations in abundance. Such 
persons, in my judgment, should not undertake wheat culture, because they can 
do better on small farms of twenty to forty acres with grapes or orchard fruits. 
I advise new-comers with a small capital to content themselves with small 
farms. By good cultivation men can make far more from twenty acres, rightly 
planted, than from a square mile of wheat. Moreover, California is, for small 
farmers, still an open and almost unexplored land. The best locations are by 
no means all taken up ; the most profitable cultures have but just fairly begun ; 
and the farmer who settles himself there in the next ten years has a better 
chance of success than those who settled ten years ago, because he has the 
experience gained in the past ten years to go upon." 

But it must be borne in mind that California, with all its 
capabilities for profitable fruit-growing, is not a country in 
which men acquire wealth or competence suddenly, or with- 
out hard work. While Nordhoff believes it to afford the " best 
opportunities for men willing to work on land that are to be 
found on this continent," he says, most emphatically : " It 
affords no opportunities at all for young men who want to 
follow sedentary or in-door employments. Clerks, no matter 
of what kind, California is full of. Of idlers, city people, young 
men who want to dress nicely and do as little as possible, it has 
much more than its share. To every one who belongs to this 
rather large class my advice is, to go anywhere except to Cali- 
fornia. He will starve there rather more quickly than in New 
York." 

The Apricot. — The apricot belongs rather to our Southern 
than to our Northern fruits. It is grown to some extent as far 
north as Southern New York, but there the tree attains only a 
very moderate size. " But," says Nordhoff — 

" The climate of California appears to be especially suited to the apricot. 
It begins to bear the third year after planting out from nursery rows. It is, so 
far, free from disease, bears abundantly, and grows to so great a size that I have 
seen single specimens which had the appearance of half-grown forest-trees. It 
has but recently come into general cultivation, and I do not doubt will continue, 
for a long time to come, to be one of the most profitable of the orchard trees of 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



93 



California. Its congener the nectarine has more lately come into orchard use, 
and less is known of it." 

Plums. — The prune and other plums are also among the 
fruits more recently introduced into California ; and the pros- 
pects for them are encouraging. These, as well as the apricot, 
are chiefly used for canning. Nordhoff says : " All these trees 
do well in almost all parts of the State, and where canning fac- 
tories are established a profit of from $100 to $200 per acre can 
be counted upon by the farmer. The canned fruits of Califor- 
nia, of which the apricot is the most important, are mainly ex- 
ported to Europe. These fruits are also dried to a considerable 
extent, but chiefly where they are grown too far from market to 
render profitable their shipment as fresh fruit. 

The Olive. — The olive is the most important fruit-tree in 
all parts of the Old World where it flourishes. The northern 
limit of its profitable cultivation in Europe is the southern ex- 
tremity of France. It is, next to bread-stuffs, pre-eminently the 
crop of Spain, Italy, and most of the coasts and islands of the 
Mediterranean. The fruit is used as food to a very limited ex- 
tent, and only (when pickled) as a relish. Its great value is for 
its oil, which in Southern Europe takes the place which butter 
and the animal fats hold with us ; and American lard appears 
to be gradually taking the place of olive -oil for cooking pur- 
poses in Italy. Among us the use of olive - oil is almost wholly 
confined to salads. The cultivation of the olive-tree has been 
introduced into California, where it thrives fairly with proper 
care, and yields excellent fruit. But, according to Nordhoff, 
" the olive has proved a success in only few hands. It is a slow 
bearer, and it has been attacked by several enemies wherever it 
has been planted in Southern California. I have no doubt 
that the earlier maturity and greater profitableness of the citrus 
fruits, and of the apricot, prune, and peach, have made men shy 
of planting olive - orchards." Still, there seem to be different 
opinions in California upon this subject, for he tells us also that 
" the general opinion is, that olives will prove as profitable as 
oranges, and that a bearing orchard will yield from $500 to $700 
per acre net profit, the cost of care, picking, and oil -making 



94 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



being somewhat more than that of marketing oranges and 
lemons." 

The cultivation of the olive in California has been so recently 
introduced that the question of its profitableness must be consid- 
ered as undecided. Mr. Nordhoff says : " Mr. Cooper, near Santa 
Barbara, has the largest and most successful bearing orchard in 
the State, and he has found it very profitable. He began making 
oil in 1880, and found an urgent demand for all his crop, at 
prices which he told me realized all his expectations of the great 
value of these trees. His olive -oil has (1882) already a fame of 
its own in the Eastern States, and he and others who now make 
olive-oil could sell much more than they produce. The pickled 
olives of California are the finest I have ever eaten, and will be 
preferred to French or Spanish olives by all who have a taste 
for this delicacy." To us it seems improbable that olive-growing 
in California will ever attain the place of a great industry, and 
for the reason that the American demand for its product must 
be quite limited. No great amount of salad-oil or pickled olives 
will probably be required among us. Any considerable increase 
above the present production would apparently glut the market, 
while in the case of the fruits already spoken of the demand 
cannot fail to be one constantly and rapidly growing. 

The Almond. — The culture of the almond-tree has been in- 
troduced into California, but apparently with only quite mod- 
erate success. There are now, according to Nordhoff, "almond- 
orchards, in several parts of the State ten or twelve years old — 
old enough to yield full crops. The general testimony of 
almond -growers is, that the tree is an abundant bearer, when 
it bears at all, but that its habits are shy and uncertain." One 
almond-grower, who had about 9000 trees, had an excellent crop 
in 1 88 1, but a very meagre one for the three preceding years: 
why he could not tell, for he had given his trees the best of care. 
The most successful almond-grower met by Nordhoff had sev- 
eral thousand trees, and the crop of 1881 was what he thought a 
good one, averaging fifteen pounds to a tree. The price at that 
time was fourteen cents a pound ; the cost of picking, hulling, 
bleaching, etc., about four cents per pound, leaving ten cents 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



95 



a pound clear profit, which, allowing 150 trees to the acre, 
would give $225 clear profit per acre. " I judge," says Mr. 
Nordhoff, "from all that I heard, that the almond has not 
become a favorite tree in the southern part of the State, but 
that its main success will be in sheltered localities north of 
Sacramento, and more probably in the foot-hills than on the 
plains." 

The English Walnut. — This noble tree belongs rather to 
the forest than to the orchard. Its fruit is commonly known 
among us as the " Madeira nut." Attempts have been made to 
introduce it into our Northern States, but there it rarely ripens 
its nuts. Not improbably it would flourish farther South, say 
from the Carolinas to Texas. It certainly flourishes admirably 
in California, where its growth is very profitable. Mr. Nordhoff 
says of it : 

" It will do well in almost all parts of the State, and is one of the trees 
which should be planted by farmers in their borders or in pastures, for when it 
matures it is like a forest-tree, and requires little care. It begins to bear at 
about eight years, but does not give a full crop until fifteen years old. Some 
orchards, twelve and thirteen years old, about Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, 
now bear at the rate of $200 to $350 per acre net profit, and this with very lit- 
tle care, as the tree is not subject to the attacks of insects or disease. I believe 
that this tree will make the most rapid growth in rather moist soil, and that 
where alfalfa is grown, which has to be frequently irrigated, the English walnut 
would succeed, if planted in the borders or along the water-ditches." 

Leaving quite out of view the advantage of the English wal- 
nut as a nut-bearer, it should be among the trees planted as 
forest-trees. And now that the subject of forest-planting is be- 
ginning to receive the attention which it deserves, it is emi- 
nently desirable that it should be definitely ascertained where 
this walnut can be grown. The Italian chestnut is another tree 
well worthy of experimental culture. In some parts of South- 
ern Europe its roasted or boiled nuts almost take the place of 
bread in the food of the peasantry. It is said that Jefferson 
tried to naturalize this tree in Virginia nearly a century ago. 
The chestnut is among the noblest of European forest- trees. 
The largest and probably the oldest tree in Europe is the great 



96 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



chestnut of Mount Etna, now almost decayed, whose hollow 
trunk, before branching off, measures 160 feet in circumference. 
It was famous for its size more than five centuries ago, and is 
believed to be much more than a thousand years old. 

Apropos to fruit culture in California, or, indeed, to produc- 
tion in any part of the country, the wise man, in seeking his 
opportunities, will always take into consideration the question 
of transportation. If but one railroad is likely to carry his prod- 
ucts to market, he can rest assured that a large part of the 
profits of his ventures will be absorbed in carriage. The temp- 
tation is always great on the part of the corporation to increase 
dividends. It might be better to locate where the yield was 
much less, and the facilities for reaching a market w r ere much 
greater, especially where perishable fruits are concerned. 



PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. 



97 



CHAPTER IX. 

PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. 

GRAPES. — The vine is perhaps the most widely extended 
of fruit -bearing plants. It is indigenous to both conti- 
nents, and we cannot go back to a time when the grape, both in 
its natural state or dried as raisins, and the juice, fermented and 
unfermented, were not largely used. For home use, and as a 
garden product, the grape can be advantageously cultivated as 
far north as Massachusetts. A grape arbor or trellis should be 
found on every farm where the nature of the soil does not abso- 
lutely preclude its growth. The vine is almost the only fruit- 
bearing plant which can be grown in the " yards " of city 
residences. 

The grape is a rather perishable fruit, and, for market pur- 
poses, cannot be grown on our Atlantic slope north of the lat- 
itude of Pennsylvania and Southern New York. But, going 
westward to the region of the great lakes, we find a consider- 
able vine -growing region in some islands at the western extrem- 
ity of Lake Erie, and another on the eastern shore of Lake 
Michigan. Leaving the great lakes, which greatly moderate the 
climate of their shores, we find the next vine-growing region in 
Southern Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri, whence it stretches, where 
the soil itself is favorable, to the extreme southern boundary of 
the United States. Besides grapes themselves, considerable 
quantities of wine are produced in this grape-growing region. 

The soil best adapted for the vine is a light or even sandy 
loam, provided that it is rich in certain mineral elements, espe- 
cially potash. Soils containing much lime and magnesia are 
also favorable. The vine sends its roots very deeply down, and 



98 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



hence very little danger to it is to be apprehended from drought, 
in any part of the United States. It flourishes without irriga- 
tion in the comparatively rainless climate of California. An ex- 
cess of moisture is its great natural enemy, and hence thorough 
and deep underdraining is indispensable. The vine draws heav- 
ily upon the soil for its potash, which, in the processes of wine- 
making, is deposited, by fermentation, in the form of " cream-of- 
tartar " (bicarbonate of potassa) ; hence all the residuum, after 
the juice has been expressed, the lees which are not manufact- 
ured into cream - of - tartar, the pommage, stems, prunings, etc., 
should be returned to the soil. Potassic manures and fertilizers, 
such as wood -ashes, are, moreover, indispensable. There are, 
how T ever, few regions (and these are rapidly diminishing) where 
wood-ashes are available ; but there are minerals, notable among 
which is the glauconite, found in the green-sand region of New 
Jersey and elsewhere, which afford an inexhaustible supply of 
potash for fertilizing purposes. Bones, also — especially in the 
form of bone-dust — form an excellent fertilizer for the vine. 

The vine is propagated mainly by cuttings from the last 
year's canes ; but seedlings are also grown, in order to obtain 
new varieties, and some very choice ones have been obtained 
by hybridization. Some of the most valuable of our American 
varieties appear to have resulted from mere accident. Circum- 
stances, perhaps, of soil and climate, for which we have as yet 
no explanation, not unfrequently exert a great influence upon 
not only the growth and productiveness of different varieties of 
the vine, but upon the quality of the fruit. Of two neighboring 
vineyards, with apparently the same soil, and stocked with the 
same cuttings, one will often produce the best wine, and the 
other that of a very inferior quality. In our present state of 
knowledge upon the subject the vine-grower must, to a great 
extent, be guided by his own experience and that of others. 
Science, it is to be hoped, will before long come to the aid of 
the practical vine -grower. But, in any case, there is no depart- 
ment of agricultural enterprise and industry in which sound 
judgment is more required, or in which larger rewards may be 
looked for, than in that of vine -growing. 



PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. 



99 



By a long course of artificial production and cultivation, and 
especially by severe pruning, the vine of Europe has in a great 
degree lost its character of a climbing plant. A French or 
German vineyard presents to the eye the appearance of a field 
planted with dwarfed shrubs. It seems probable that some of 
the chief diseases which have of late years proved so fatal to the 
vineyards of France and Germany are partly the result of this 
mode of propagating the vine, generation after generation, from 
the cuttings, instead of renewing the stock from the seed. It is 
certain that the European vine is quite unable to withstand the 
attacks of a new enemy. In 1853-54 the vines in Spain, Portu- 
gal, France, and Germany were simultaneously attacked by a 
minute fungous growth — the oiditim, which to the eye resem- 
bles a mildew — and which caused extensive ravages. This was 
essentially an epidemic, and in time subsided. 

Ten years later the French vines were attacked by a disease 
to which the name of " root-rot " was given, it being supposed to 
be a mere decay of the root. It was not until 1868 that it was 
discovered to be occasioned by the attacks of the minute, wing- 
less louse to which the name of phylloxera has been given. It 
was also found that this insect was brought into Europe from 
America in the cuttings of vines which had been imported for 
the purpose of introducing new and more hardy stock. So 
great were the ravages of the phylloxera that the French Gov- 
ernment in 1872 offered a reward of 300,000 francs for the dis- 
covery of any remedy. It is said that within the last eight or 
ten years France has lost more than a million acres of vines by 
this pest. 

But the thing of special interest is that, while this American 
phylloxera is so destructive to European vines, it does, as yet, 
little or no harm to most of our native varieties, which thus far 
seem to be "phylloxera-proof." Various remedies have been tried 
in Europe, but with hardly an appearance of success. There is 
now a large exportation of American cuttings, for grafting on 
European varieties. The bearing of this, from a wealth -pro- 
ducing point of view, will be appreciated when we consider the 
present condition and future prospects of wine -making. 



100 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Wines. — Important as the vine is as the bearer of grapes to 
be consumed as fruit, its chief importance has hitherto arisen 
from the production of wine. The possible value of the wine 
product of Europe, and inferentially of America, must be esti- 
mated, not by the quantity now produced, but by what was made 
(or manufactured) twenty years ago, before the oi'dium and the 
phylloxera had cut down the area under cultivation and the 
yield of wine. Mr. Haraszthy, one of the earliest, and still one 
of the most extensive, vine -growers of California, was appointed, 
in 1 86 1, commissioner from that State to investigate the vine- 
culture of Europe. He furnishes full statistics upon the subject, 
the essential points of which are given in Table VIII. The 
acreage is from public sources; the quantity of wine produced 
is the average for several years, as calculated by Rewald. In 
estimating the value of the product it is put at 25 cents a gal- 
lon, that being assumed as the average sum received by the 
actual producers on the spot. It will be seen that at this low 
estimate the value of the wine crop of Europe for one year 
was $776,000,000, exceeding by more than one-half the value 
of any crop in the United States in 1880: 



TABLE VIII.— WINE PRODUCT OF EUROPE. 



Country. 


Vineyards. 


Product of Wine. 


Value of Wines. 


Product 
per Acre. 


Value 
per Acre. 




A cres. 


Gallons. 


Dollars. 


Gallons. 


Dollars. 




5,013,774 


884,000,000 


221,000,000 


176.3 


44.07 


Italy 


2,887,970 


1,275,000,000 


318,750,000 


441.5 


110.37 




2,685,950 


714,000,000 


178.500,000 


265.8 


66.46 




955,004 


144,500,000 


36,125,000 


151.7 


37.92 




350,338 


52,105,000 


13,026,250 


150.0 


37.02 


Greece 


77,593 


9,384,500 


2,346,000 


115.0 


28.68 


Switzerland 


76,400 


2,550,000 


637,500 


33.5 


8.34 


Total 


12,285,780 


3,107,039,000 


776,759,750 







It is not probable — nor, indeed, desirable — that wine-making 
should assume with us anything like the proportionate impor- 
tance which it holds in these European countries ; but in Cali- 
fornia, at least, grape -growing for this purpose is a rapidly- 
increasing industry. Except in California, the vine is grown 
almost entirely in small patches of ground ; there are no means 
of giving, even approximately, any reliable estimate of the acre- 
age devoted to it. With respect to California, however, Mr. 



PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. 



101 



Nordhoff furnishes us with some facts of more recent date than 
our last census. He says that in 1882 there were in that State 
85,000 acres planted in vines, of which 20,000 acres were new, 
and had not borne; and that in 1880 the total vineyard product 
of the State — grapes for market, wine, and raisins — was valued 
at more than $3,000,000. He says : 

" It is clear that this industry is still but in its infancy in this State, and that 
it has a wide and lasting future. One hears on all hands, and in a dozen coun- 
ties, of men of wealth planting out from one hundred to one thousand acres in 
vines as a profitable and permanent investment. For my part, I do not believe 
that these great vineyards will, in the long run, be profitable. The vine needs 
more care than will be given to it in these large vineyards, where the owner's 
eye is absent, and must be replaced by careless foremen and uninterested 
laborers. The small vineyards will be the profitable ones, and the possessor 
of forty or even twenty acres will secure a handsome profit, and keep his vines 
strong and healthful, while the vines on the great estates will slowly perish, 
and never bear satisfactorily. It is the small vineyards in the foot-hills of the 
Sacramento Valley which will some day bear off the great prizes, and become 
permanently valuable properties. Fortunately for men of small means coming 
here, these lands are still the cheapest in the State. Land of approved quality 
for vineyards can be bought at various prices, from $5 to $100 per acre. In 
those counties where the culture has been long established the prices are the 
highest ; but there is much land capable of producing the very best quality of 
wine which can still be obtained for from $5 to $10 per acre, and in small or 
great quantities." 

As now conducted in California, the business of wine- 
making is quite separate from that of grape -growing. "Win- 
eries" have been established, having presses which will stem 
and crush from eight to ten tons of grapes per hour, without 
the fruit being touched by human hand or foot after it has been 
picked. In the cellars of these establishments are vats holding 
three thousand gallons each, and sometimes four times as much. 
The grape-grower sells his grapes to these wineries in the bulk. 
As to the prices, Mr. Nordhoff says : 

"The price of grapes, as with other crops, varies from year to year. In 
1879 'Mission grapes' brought at the wine-centres from $14 to $16 per ton; 
finer varieties, from $18 to $26 per ton. Wine-makers complain that the prices 
of 1879 were too high. I have no doubt that they were, and that prices will, 
as a rule, be considerably lower than these. Nevertheless, in this year (1881) 



102 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



prices are well maintained. In Sonoma, Napa, and Stockton, Mission grapes — 
the common grape of the country, now chiefly used for brandy and heavy wines 
— brought $25 per ton in autumn; foreign varieties, S30; Zinf andel, from which 
claret is made, $30 to $32 : and Riesling, the grape for white wines and cham- 
pagnes, S30 to 335 at the wineries. In the Los Angeles country $20 per ton 
was paid for Mission and $25 for foreign grapes; and similar prices in other 
parts of the State. It is reckoned that a vineyard should bear four tons to 
the acre. I should think three and a half tons a fair crop ; but in many con- 
siderable districts this average is largely exceeded, and from eight to ten tons 
per acre is not an uncommon crop where irrigation is practised." 

Mr. Nordhoff first visited California in 1872, and then ex- 
pressed himself not very favorably in regard to wine-making. 
His views were much modified by his second visit, in 1881. 
He now says : 

" In the early days, and indeed until quite recently, the owner of a vineyard 
was obliged to have also a cellar, casks, presses, and needed, therefore, a con- 
siderable capital — more than a farmer usually has. And there is no doubt that 
while this worked badly and oppressively upon the vine-growers, it also made 
vine-culture a business by which many a poor farmer and his boys became sots. 
It is not good for anybody to spend much time in a wine-cellar ; and I then 
advised new settlers not to plant vineyards, because having to make wine would 
expose many of them to contracting habits of intemperance and tippling. The 
great change which has come about in the management of the business avoids 
this danger. The farmer who sells his grapes to a wine-maker has no more 
temptation to wine-bibbing than if he sold grain to the mill." 

But, whatever may be thought of the extended culture of 
the vine for wine-making, there can be no question that its ex- 
tension for the sake of the fruit itself, whether to be used in 
its natural state or dried, as raisins, is very certain. 

Raisins. — The raisin is not simply any dried grape, but is 
the product of certain varieties of the grape dried and treated 
in a particular manner. Hitherto the raisins of commerce have 
been produced almost entirely within narrow districts in Spain, 
Italy, Sicily, and some of the Grecian islands. What are known 
among us as "dried currants" are really raisins made from a 
variety of the grape, the fruit of which is not larger than a pea, 
and the clusters only about three inches long. The best raisins 
imported come from Spain, and are commonly known as "sun- 
raisins." These are dried upon the vine ; when the grape is 



PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. 



103 



ripe the stem is twisted or partly severed, and the fruit begins 
to shrivel from the evaporation of the water, while all the sac- 
charine matter and other elements are retained. The more 
common kinds of raisins, after being picked, are dried either in 
the sun or in heated rooms ; they are then dipped in a strong 
lye, in which a little oil is mixed, which causes an exudation of 
saccharine matter which concretes upon the raisins. 

Theoretically it has long- been believed that California must 
be specially adapted for the production of raisins, both because 
the grapes best adapted for this use flourish there and because 
the climate is fitted for drying them. But raisin-making is an 
altogether new industry there. Nordhoff says : 

" Ten years ago California produced in limited quantities an article called 
' dried grapes,' which was sold in the mining-camps and among the poor as a 
cheap substitute for raisins. They would not keep, would not bear transpor- 
tation, were not soundly cured, and, in short, were not raisins. The product 
was of no commercial importance. Two years ago (1879) tne raisin-product 
of California amounted to perhaps S200.000. Next year (1882) it will be worth 
$500,000; and, unless for some reason not yet apparent it receives a check, 
California will in ten years supply a large part of the raisins of commerce. It 
is one of the most promising and important of the industries recently intro- 
duced into this State." 

The Gordo Blanco is the raisin-grape of California, as it is 
also of Spain; it is also the most delicious of table -grapes. 
" It has," says Nordhoff, " been used as a wine-grape, and is 
still used in the production of brandy, but it will now and for 
many years to come be cultivated for raisins." From Mr. 
Blower, one of the earliest and still the largest raisin -maker 
in the State, Nordhoff received much minute and valuable in- 
formation, which we summarize. 

He practises the most careful cultivation of his vineyards, 
going over the ground as many as sixteen times a year with 
various implements, in order to keep the soil loose and mellow, 
and perfectly free from weeds. He also — contrary to general 
usage in respect to the vine — makes free use of irrigation, even 
keeping the vines under two feet of water for nearly four weeks 
during the winter. He also makes large use of bone-dust and 
ashes, but finds stable-manure not adapted to this vine. The 



104 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



average product of his vineyard for the six years, 1876-82, was 
six tons of grapes to the acre, equivalent to two tons of market- 
able raisins. He considered, as the result of his own experience 
and observation of that of others', that a vineyard of raisin-grapes, 
carefully cultivated and irrigated, should yield in the third year 
enough to repay all the cost of labor for that year, including the 
picking; that in the fourth year it should repay the entire cost 
of the land, and planting and culture up to that time. But, says 
Nordhoff, " it is well known that a vine is not in full bearing 
until the seventh or even the tenth year after planting. To 
plant and cultivate a raisin-vineyard should cost, to the time of 
bearing, not less than $40 per acre — probably more — exclusive 
of picking and curing the grapes." 

Mr. Blower, who had made raisins w T here they yielded a 
dollar for every vine — of which there were usually 550 to the 
acre — thought that "good raisin-land, with water secured, would 
be reasonable in price at from $80 to $100 per acre." But, in 
Nordhoff's judgment, " this should include such nearness to 
market as his own neighborhood," which was in Yolo County, 
seventy-five miles from San Francisco, and on the line of the 
Central Pacific Railroad. But he adds : " There is a vast quan- 
tity of good land in the southern part of the State, obtainable 
and suitable for this crop, at from $20 to $50 per acre, with 
water secured; and without water- ditches, but lying in large 
tracts, where a body of settlers could bring water by a united 
effort, such lands can be got at from $5 to $10 per acre, in 
parts where both climate and soil are most favorable for the 
raisin -crop." 

Until the autumn of 1881 nearly all farmers who cultivated 
raisin -grapes made their own raisins. The process is by no 
means a complicated one. The sun being the best dryer, arti- 
ficial drying, whenever resorted to, produces a poorer quality of 
raisins. The bunches are cut from the vine, defective grapes 
carefully picked off, and the clusters laid to dry either upon the 
ground or upon wooden trays about three feet square. In the 
opinion of some growers it is better to lay the clusters upon the 
ground, the heat retained by the soil, they say, helping the dry- 



PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. 



105 



ing during the cool nights. When the upper side of the bunches 
is tolerably dry they are turned with as little handling as possi- 
ble. Only one turning is required; but in localities liable to 
sea-fogs or rain the grapes should be covered at night. 

But when sufficiently " cured " the grapes will be unequally 
dried. At the proper stage they are brought into the house 
and placed in boxes four feet square and two and a half or 
three feet deep. They remain in these "sweat-boxes" from 
one day to five, until the moisture has equally permeated the 
whole mass — the drier portions receiving moisture from the 
others, and vice versa. The grapes have now become raisins, 
and are packed for market. A division of labor is beginning 
to be introduced into raisin -making. Here and there a farmer 
sells his grapes on the vine to men who undertake the business 
of drying and packing ; others dry their grapes, and sell them 
in this state to professional packers. Mr. Nordhoff thinks " it 
is probable that as the planting of the raisin-grape becomes 
more general in the southern half of the State, where the 
climate and soil especially favor it, the farmers will be able 
to dispose of their raisin -grapes, either in the field or dried, 
to men who will make a business of drying or packing them." 

In this and the preceding chapter special attention has been 
given to California, for the reason that this State presents some 
characteristics distinguishing it from most other portions of the 
Union, and which afford special inducements to those who seek 
new homes for themselves. It should be borne in mind, also, 
that California is a very large State ; territorially, indeed, an 
empire. Its area exceeds by one-third that of Great Britain 
and Ireland or Italy. It is nearly equal to that of the king- 
doms of Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Den- 
mark combined. It is less by only one-fourth than that of 
France or Germany; by one -half than that of Austria and 
Hungary. It is undoubtedly capable of sustaining a popula- 
tion equal to that of either of the great Powers of Europe, with 
the exception of Russia, and perhaps of Germany; and gener- 
ations must elapse before it will become so thickly peopled as 
not to afford scope for enterprise, skill, and industry. 

7 



106 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER X. 

LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 

THE raising of live-stock is a very important department 
of husbandry. A large proportion of farmers and planters 
are also stock- raisers to a greater or less extent, and most of 
those largely engaged in the raising or care of live-stock are 
also directly engaged in agriculture. In the Census Report 
these are classed as farmers, planters, or agricultural laborers. 
Still, there are in the United States 44,075 persons who are 
specifically designated as " stock- raisers," "stock-herders," and 
"stock-drovers." Of these only 2793 are under the age of six- 
teen; and there are only 226 women, of whom 122 are "stock- 
raisers;" that is, the proprietors of stock-raising farms. 

The Census of 1880 takes no account (except in regard to 
sheep) of the live-stock not upon farms. This is very consid- 
erable ; for, according to the Census of 1870, there were in that 
year 23,800,000 neat-cattle on farms, and 4,273,000 not on farms; 
and 7,142,000 horses on farms, and 1,547,000 not on farms. 
The number of neat-cattle not on farms is now comparatively 
small, as the public lands upon which they formerly grazed 
have been mostly bought up by the graziers, and the cattle 
transferred to farms, being so included in the Census of 1880. 

But the horses " not on farms " include, and indeed mainly 
consist of, those employed for draught or riding in cities and 
towns, and are thus not included in the Census. How impor- 
tant this exclusion is will appear from a few instances. The 
county of New York is, territorially, the same as the city of 
New York, and contains only a few score of farms; the number 
of horses in the county is put down at only 207 ; whereas, the 



CELEBRATED AMERICAN TROTTERS. 




RARUS 
See Note 4. 



LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 



109 



number actually employed for drawing the public conveyances, 
for trucking, driving, and riding, must be many scores of thou- 
sands. Kings County, on Long Island, includes the city of 
Brooklyn and five outlying farming townships; the number of 
horses in the county is given as only 1673, whereas there are 
probably one -third as many as in the city of New York. Phil- 
adelphia County, in Pennsylvania, is municipally the same as 
the city, but contains a considerable number of farms. The 
number of horses in the county is given as only 2763, whereas 
there are doubtless half as many as in the city of New York ; 
and so on, to a greater or less extent, with all other cities and 
towns. The Superintendent of the Census appointed a special 
agent to inquire into the number of sheep not on farms ; it 
would have been of great advantage had this been done in the 
far more important matter of horses. In the absence of all 
specific data bearing upon this point, it may be assumed that 
the number of horses " not on farms " was certainly not less in 
1880 than it was in 1870; and as there were then more than a 
million and a half of these, at least so many should be added 
to the number of horses as given in the Census Report. 

Table IX. gives for each State the number of heads of live- 
stock in 1880 and 1870. 

In considering, for practical purposes, the increase from one 
decade to another in any branch of production, respect must be 
had not so much to the absolute increase as to the ratio which 
it bears to the increase of population. If any production has 
increased by a percentage much less than that of the increase 
of population, that industry is relatively a declining one ; and, 
as a rule, a declining industry furnishes less prospect of success 
than a growing one. There will, of course, be many cases in 
which a stated industry, though not successful in some sections 
of the country, may be profitably conducted in other sections. 
Thus, for example, the raising of peaches has been practical- 
ly abandoned everywhere north of Southern New York, while 
it has become exceedingly profitable in Maryland, Delaware, 
and parts of New Jersey, and probably may be so still farther 
south. 



110 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



The raising of live-stock is among the growing industries 
of the United States, as is shown by the fact that the ratio of 
increase of every kind during the last decade was considerably 
greater than that of the increase of population ; and there is 



TABLE IX.— LIVE-STOCK. 







1870. 


1SS0. 


1S70. 


l&sO. 


IS 4 0. 


1SS0. 


States atsd Tehv.i- 
















toeies. 


Horses. 


Horses. 


jjlules ciiicl 


jlnles and 


\» OIK g 


\Y oi'King 










Asses. 


Asses. 


Oxen. 


Oxen. 


Cows. 


Alabama 


113,950 


80,770 


121,081 


76,675 


75,534 


59416 


271.443 


Arizona 


6,798 


335 


891 


401 


984 


587 


9,156 


Arkansas 


146,333 


92.013 


87,082 


36,202 


25,444 


35,387 


249,407 


California 


237,710 


192,273 


28,343 


17,533 


2,288 


5.944 


210,078 


Colorado 


42,257 


6,446 


2,581 


1,173 


2,080 


5,566 


288,770 


Connecticut 


44,940 


34,935 


539 


190 


28418 


39.639 


116,319 


Dakota 


41,670 


2,514 


2,703 


225 


11,418 


2,125 


40.572 


Delaware 


21,933 


16,770 


3,931 
68 


3,584 


5,818 


6,888 


27,284 


Dist. of Columbia. 


1,027 


533 


124 


4 


6 


1,292 


Florida 


22,636 


11,902 


9,606 


8.835 


16.141 


6,292 


42,174 


Georgia 


98,520 


81,777 


132,078 


87,426 


50,026 


54,332 


315.073 


Idaho 


24,300 


2,151 


610 


371 


737 


522 


12,838 


Illinois . . 


1,023,082 


853,738 


123,278 


85.075 


3,346 


19,766 


865,913 


Indiana 


581,444 


497,883 


51,780 


43,259 


3,970 


14,088 


494,944 


Iowa . . 


792,322 


433,642 


44,424 


25,485 


2,506 


22,058 


854,187 


.Kansas 


430,907 


117,786 


64,869 


11,786 


16,789 


20,774 


418.333 


Kentucky 


372,648 


317,034 


116,153 


99,230 


36,166 


69,719 


301,882 


Louisiana . 


104,428 


59,738 


76,674 


61,338 


41,729 


32,596 


146,454 


Maine . . 


87,848 


71,514 


298 


336 


43' 049 


60.530 


150,845 


Maryland 


117,796 


89,696 


12,561 


9,830 


22/246 


22,491 


122^907 


Massachusetts .... 


59,629 


41,039 


243 


103 


14,571 


24.430 


150435 


Michigan 


378,778 


228,302 


5,083 


2,353 


40^393 


36.499 


384,578 


Minnesota 


257,282 


93,011 


9'019 


2,350 


36^344 


43' 176 


275. 545 


Mississippi 


112^309 


90,221 


129478 


85,' 886 


61405 


58^146 


268478 


Missouri 


667,776 


493,969 


192^027 


111502 


9' 020 
'936 


65^825 


661405 


Montana Territory 


3o' 114 


5', 289 


'858 


475 


1,761 


ll',308 


Nebraska 


204,864 


30,511 


19,999 


2,632 


7,234 


5,931 


161487 




32,087 


7,520 


1,258 


990 


765 


2,443 


13,319 


New Hampshire . . 


46,773 


39,095 


87 


37 


29,152 


40.513 


90,564 




86,940 


79,708 


9,267 


8,853 


2,022 


3,830 


152.078 


New Mexico Ter. . 


14,547 


5,033 


9,063 


6,141 


16,432 


19.774 


12,955 




610,358 


536,861 


5,072 


4,407 


39.633 


64.141 


1,437,855 


North Carolina . . . 


133,686 


102,763 


81,871 


50,684! 


50,188 


45,408 


232,133 


Ohio 


736.478 


609,722 


19,481 


16,065 ! 


8,226 


23,606 


767.043 




124,107 


51,702 


2,804 


2,581 1 


4,132 


2 Ml 


59,549 




533,587 


480,339 


22,914 


18,009; 


15,062 


30.048 


854,156 




9,661 


7,770 


46 


43 


3,523 


5,821 


21.460 


South Carolina . . . 


60,660 


44,105 


67.005 


41,327 


24,507 


17,685 


139,881 




266,119 


247,254 


173,498 


102,983 


27,312 


63,970 


303,900 


Texas 


805,606 


424,504 


132,447 


61,322 


90,502 


132,407 


606,176 


Utah Territory . . . 


38,131 


11,068 


2,898 


- 2,879 


3,968 


3.479 


32,768 




75,215 


65.015 


283 


.252 


18,868 


27,809 


217,033 




218,838 


152,899 


33,598 


26,903 


54,709 


45.987 


243.061 


Washington Ter. . 


45,848 


11,138 


626 


943 


3,821 


2,181 


27,622 


West Virginia .... 


126,143 


90.479 


6,226 


2,139 


12,643 


18.937 


156.956 




352,428 


252,019 


7,136 


4,195; 


28/762 


53,615 


478.374 




11,975 


584 


671 


283 1 


718 


922 


3,730 


Total 


10,357,488 


7,145,370 


1,812,808 


1,125,415 


993,841 


1,319,271 


12,443.120 



LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. Ill 

every reason to anticipate that this ratio of increase will be 
kept up. 

An analysis of the figures in Table IX. will produce the 
following results, among others : The increase of population 



TABLE IX.— LIVE - STOCK — Continued. 



States and 

TeEEITUE£E8. 



Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas . . . 
California . . . 
Colorado. . . . 
Connecticut . 

Dakota 

Delaware . . . 
Dist. of Col. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky. . . 
Louisiana . . . 

Maine 

Maryland . . . 

Mass 

Michigan . . . 
Minnesota. . . 
Mississippi. 
Missouri 
Montana Ter. 
Nebraska . . . 

Nevada 

N. H 

New Jersey . 
N. Mex. Ter.. 
New York . . 
N. Carolina. . 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Penn 

Rhode Island 
S. Carolina. . 
Tennessee. . . 

Texas 

Utah Ter. . . . 
Vermont. . . . 
Virginia 
Wash. Ter. . . 
W. Virginia. 
Wisconsin . . 
Wyoming T. 



1870. 



Milch 
Cows. 



170.640 
938 
128,959 
164,093 

25,017 

98,889 
4,151 

24,082 
657 

61,922 
231,310 
4,171 
640,321 
393,736 
369,811 
123,440 
247,615 
102,076 
139,259 

94,794 
114,771 
250,859 
121,467 
173,899 
398,515 

12,432 

28,940 
6,174 

90,583 
133,331 

16.417 
,350,661 
196,731 
654,390 

48,325 
706,437 

18,806 

98,693 
243,197 
428,048 

17,563 
180,285 
188,471 

16,938 
104,434 
308,377 
707 



1SS0. 



Other 
Cattle. 



404,213 
34,843 
433,392 
451,941 
315,989 
92,149 
88,825 
20,450 
271 
409,055 
544,812 
71,292 
1,515,063 
864,846 
1,755,343 
1,015,935 
505,746 
282,418 
140,527 
117,387 
96,045 
466,660 
347,161 
387,452 
1,410,507 
160,143 
590,129 
158,137 
112,689 
69,786 
137,314 
862,233 
375,105 
1,084,917 
352,561 
861,019 
10,601 
199,321 
452,462 
3,387,927 
58,680 
167,204 
388,414 
103,111 
288,845 
622,005 
273,625 



1S70. 



Other 
Cattle. 



257,347 
3,607 
193,589 
461,361 
40,153 
79,485 
6,191 
19,020 
138 
322,701 
412,261 
5,763 
1,055,499 
618,360 
614,366 
229,753 
382,993 
200,589 
143,272 
98,074 
79,851 
260,171 
145,736 
269,030 
689,355 
22,545 
45,057 
22,899 
91,705 
60,327 
21,343 
630,522 
279,023 
758,221 
69,431 
608,066 
9,748 
132,925 
336,529 
2,933,588 
18,138 
112,741 
277,285 
28,135 
178,309 
331,302 
9,501 



1880. 


1S70. 


1S80. 


1870 


Sheep. 


Sheep. 


Swine. 


Swine. 


347,538 


241,934 
803 


1,252,462 


719,757 


76,524 


3,819 


720 


246,757 


161,077 


1,565,098 


841,129 


4,152,349 


2,768,187 


603,550 


444,617 


746,443 


120,928 


7,656 


5,509 


59,431 


83,884 


63,699 


51,983 


30,244 


1,901 


63,394 


2,033 


21,967 


22,714 


48,186 


39,818 




604 


. 1,132 


577 


56,681 


26,599 


287,051 


158,908 


527,589 


419,465 


1,471,003 


988,566 


27,326 


1,021 


14,178 


2,316 


1,037,073 


1,568,286 


5,170,266 


2,703,343 


1,100,511 


1,612,680 


3,186,413 


1,872,230 


455,359 


855,493 


6,034,316 


1,353,908 


499,671 


109,088 


1,787,969 


206,587 


1,000,269 


936,765 


2,225,225 


1,838,227 


135,631 


118,602 


633,489 


338,326 


565,918 


434,666 


74,369 


45,760 


171,184 


129,697 


335,408 


257,893 


67,979 


78,560 


80,123 


49,178 


2,189,389 


1,985,906 


964,071 


417,811 


267,598 


132,343 


381,415 


148,473 


287,694 


232,732 


1,151,818 


814,381 


1,411,298 


1,352,001 


4,553,123 


2,306,430 


184,277 


2,024 


10,278 


2,599 


199,453 


22,725 


1,241,724 


59,449 


133,695 


11,018 


9,080 


3,295 


211,82o 


248, 760 


53,437 


33,127 


117,020 


120,067 


219,669 


142,563 


2,088,831 


619,438 


7,857 


11,267 


1,715,180 


2,181,578 


751,907 


518,251 


461,638 


463,435 


1,453,541 


1,075,215 


4,902,486 


4,928,635 


3,141,333 


1,728,968 


1,083,162 


318,123 


156,222 


119,455 


1,776,598 


1,794,301 


1,187,968 


867,548 


17,211 


23,938 


14,121 


14,607 


118,889 


124,594 


628,198 


395,999 


672,789 


826-, 783 


2,160,495 


1,828,690 


2,411,633 


714,351 


1,950,371 


1,202,445 


233,121 


59,672 


17,198 


3,150 


439,870 


580,347 


76,384 


46,345 


497,289 


370,145 


956,451 


674,670 


292,883 


44,063 


46,828 


17,491 


674,769 


552,327 


510,613 


268,031 


1,336,807 


1,069,282 


1,128,825 


512,778 


140,225 


6,409 


567 


146 


35,192,074 


28,447,951 


47,681,700 


25,134,569 



112 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



from 1870 to 1880 was 30.1 per cent., and this is assumed as 
the basis of comparison. The increase during the same period 
in the number of neat-cattle was 38 per cent. ; in the number of 
horses, 44 per cent.; in the number of mules, 61 per cent.; in 
the number of sheep, 48 per cent. ; in the number of swine, 90 
per cent. Or, taking all together, the increase in the number 
of live-stock was 56.2 per cent. — a ratio of increase almost twice 
that of the increase of population. 

The increase in values is even greater than the increase in 
numbers. The statistics embodied in the censuses of 1880 and 
1870 show that not only has the number of live-stock more than 
doubled during that period, but that the average value of each 
head has also nearly doubled. 

The average value per head for the whole United States, 
in 1880, was: Mules, $61.26; horses, $54.75; milch cows, 
$23.27; oxen and other cattle, $16.10; swine, $4.28; sheep, 
$2.21. Multiplying these values by the number of the respec- 
tive kinds of live-stock, we find their total values to be, in round 
numbers: Horses, $647,000,000; oxen, $384,000,000; milch 
cows, $290,000,000; swine, $204,000,000 ; mules, $1 1 1,000,000 ; 
sheep, $93,000,000: total value of live-stock, $1,729,000,000.* 
The Census Report of 1870 gives the total value of " all live- 
stock" in that year (in gold) as about $1,050,000,000; but from 
this should be deducted about $175,000,000 for the live-stock 
u not on farms," which are not included in the Census of 1880; 
so that there was in 1880 an increase of value of about 
$679,000,000, or 66 per cent. While there is no reason to 
suppose that the increase in the numbers of live-stock will 
hereafter be less in proportion to the increase of population, 
it is not probable that the increase in value per head will here- 
after be as great as it was from 1870 to 1880. But there must 
still be an increase in the value per head, owing to the improve- 
ments in the breeds of some of the animals, especially of neat- 
cattle. There can be no doubt that the numbers of cattle will 



* The Census Report puts the value of live - stock " on farms " at 
45 1, .500,464,609, thus leaving about $229,000,000 for that "not on farms." 



LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 



113 



increase more rapidly than the population increases ; for, be- 
sides our home consumption, Great Britain must look very 
largely, and France and Germany considerably, to the United 
States to supply their inevitable and growing deficiency in 
meat as well as in bread-stuffs. Great Britain may get nearly 
all her wool from Australia and New Zealand ; she may possi- 
bly, in time, draw r much of her salted and canned meats from 
these colonies ; but there is no present probability that fresh 
meat can be profitably brought from them ; for such meats 
would have to be carried over the w T hole breadth of the tropi- 
cal zone and over two-thirds of both temperate zones, in order 
to reach England — a three months' voyage at least, instead 
of the eight or ten days consumed between New York and 
Liverpool. 

Every part of an animal is of value for one purpose or an- 
other, and the utilizing of such portions as w r ere formerly wasted 
is among the chief triumphs of recent science and skill. The 
hides of all (except the swine, which is rarely skinned) are used 
for leather; the hoofs and horns for various manufacturing 
purposes, and for making glue ; the bones, besides manufactur- 
ing uses, furnish gelatine, which is largely used as an ingredient 
of soups, although some eminent physiologists affirm that this 
gelatine is of very little value as nutriment, w T hile others, not 
less eminent, claim a very high value for it. When calcined in 
close vessels bones yield "bone-black," or animal charcoal, an 
indispensable article in the refining of sugars. Bones, especially 
when pulverized into " bone-dust," are among the most valuable 
of fertilizers, and are almost indispensable for some crops. The 
offal and excreta of animals form the most common manures. 
The fat of all animals is of great value for many purposes, 
among the most important of which are : for cooking, for the 
manufacture of soap and candles, and for lubricating machinery. 
For the last three purposes the supply of animal fats is alto- 
gether insufficient, and the deficiency is supplied by various 
vegetable oils, especially palm-oil, and by mineral oils, such as 
petroleum. Still, the most important uses of live-stock are, 
their flesh (except that of the horse and mule), for food; dairy 



114 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



products — milk, butter, and cheese — from the cow; and wool, 
from the sheep. These will be considered in connection with 
the different animals which furnish them. 

Neat-cattle. — In respect of value — both of the animals 
themselves and of their products — cattle rank highest among 
our live-stock, although in number they are exceeded by both 
sheep and swine. A considerable number of cattle are still 
used as " working oxen ;" but during the last twenty years their 
number has been constantly decreasing, not merely as com- 
pared with the increase of the population, but absolutely. In 
i860 there were in the United States 2,254,911 working oxen; 
in 1870 there were 1,319,271 ; in 1880 there were 993,841 — an 
absolute decrease from i860 to 1870 of 42 per cent.; and from 
1870 to 1880 there was a farther decrease of 25 per cent. In 
1880 there were, indeed, 44 per cent, fewer working oxen than 
there were in 1850, notwithstanding an increase of 117 per cent, 
in the population. In most sections of the country horses and 
mules have, to a great extent, taken the place of oxen in agri- 
cultural and field labor. 

Milch cows constitute about 32 per cent, of the neat -cattle 
in the United States, the remainder being oxen and young ani- 
mals. The average value of a milch cow is somewhat greater 
than that of the other cattle, and the value per head of all of 
them, for various reasons, varies in different localities. Thus, in 
1880 the average value of a milch cow in Georgia was $13.25, 
of other cattle, per head, $7.90 ; in Tennessee a cow was 
$13.25, other cattle $7.90; in California, a cow, $28.50, other 
cattle, $18.50; in Ohio, a cow, $26.50, other cattle, $22.50; in 
New York, a cow, $29.10, other cattle, $26.25 ; in Massachusetts 
and Rhode Island the value per head was about equal, $35 in 
the former State and $30 in the latter. In Texas the average 
value of a milch cow was $14, of other cattle $9, per head ; since 
then, however, the value of cattle in Texas has considerably in- 
creased, owing to better means of bringing them to market. 
The average value for the whole United States was about $25 
for a cow and $16 per head for other cattle. 

One reason for the greater value of cattle in some sections 



CELEBRATED AMERICAN TROTTERS. 




ABERDEEN. ALMONT LIGHTNING. 

ETHAN ALLEN, JUN. HAPPY MEDIUM. 

See Note 4. 



LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 



117 



over others is the improvement in the breeds ; and the raising 
of improved stock is frequently a very lucrative business, a cow 
or bull of the most approved breeds often bringing several hun- 
dreds, and sometimes several thousands of dollars. This busi- 
ness requires, however, great judgment and a very considerable 
capital, so that comparatively few can engage in it. 

The Census of 1870 gives the value of all "animals slaugh- 
tered or sold for slaughter" as (in gold) $319,165,327. The 
Census of 1880 includes only the animals slaughtered in large 
establishments, " the statistics of retail slaughtering establish- 
ments not being included ;" so that no comparison between the 
two periods can be instituted. The whole value of all the ani- 
mals slaughtered in these wholesale establishments in 1880 was 
$256,738,905 ; that of beeves being $71,333,182, being less than 
half that of swine. 

The products of the dairy — milk, butter, and cheese — far ex- 
ceed in value that of the flesh of neat-cattle. These form the 
subject of the next chapter. 

Sheep and Wool. — In the United States sheep are raised 
for the sake of their wool rather than for the sake of their flesh. 
As shown in Table IX., the number of sheep "on farms" in 
1880 was 35,192,074; in 1870 there were on farms 28,477,951 — 
an increase in 1880 of 24 per cent. There were also in 1880, 
according to estimate, 7,000,000 sheep on " ranches and public 
lands," making the whole number more than 42,000,000. As 
nearly as can be estimated, the proportion between those on 
farms and those not on farms was about the same in 1870 as 
in 1880. The wool product of sheep on farms in 1880 was 
155,681,751 pounds; the Census Report of 1870 gives the prod- 
uct of that year as 100,102,387 pounds — an increase of 55 per 
cent. Besides the wool produced on farms, it was found, by 
special investigation, that in 1880 the fall clip in Texas and Cal- 
ifornia, not included in the statement, was 1 3,000,000 ; the wool 
of other "ranch" sheep was 34,000,000, the pulled wool of slaugh- 
tered sheep 38,000,000 pounds — making the total wool product 
of 1880, 240,681,751 pounds. 

There are no means of ascertaining even approximately the 



118 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



number and value of the sheep slaughtered. The Census Re- 
port of 1880 gives, as with beeves, only those killed in the 823 
wholesale establishments. In these the number slaughtered was 
2,233,701, their average gross weight being 92 pounds; value, 
$8,957,727, or $4 each. Of these sheep 80 per cent, were 
slaughtered in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and 
California ; and in twenty of the States there are none re- 
ported. But, besides these, the number of sheep slaughtered 
on the farm and in small slaughter-houses must be very con- 
siderable. 

The average value of sheep per head throughout the United 
States is $2.21 ; but it varies considerably in different sections. 
In Alabama and Arkansas it is as low as $1.56; in California, 
$1.62; in Texas, §1.89; in Michigan, Ohio, and the adjacent 
States, about $2.70 ; in Vermont, $3.48 ; in New York and 
Massachusetts, $3.58 ; the highest rate being in New Jersey, 
where it is $4.07. In the sections where the value is much 
above the general average sheep are raised for slaughter quite 
as much as for their wool. 

In Great Britain sheep are raised for their flesh rather than 
for their fleece, and careful breeding and careful feeding have 
produced breeds of great value for this purpose. Notable 
among these are the Southdowns, prized not only for their 
size, but for the quality of their mutton. Not long since 
Mrs. Phoebe Earl Gibbons visited the Southdown district, and 
describes the mode of sheep-raising there practised. She says : 

" Merino sheep are not kept here, the carcass being of more value than 
the wool. This farm, which is not enclosed, feeds about 900 sheep, in three 
flocks, each flock having a shepherd and a dog. At night the sheep are folded, 
the fold being made of wattles, which can be moved from spot to spot each 
day, so that, one after another, every spot is manured. The farmers try to 
have some green food started by lambing-time, which begins about March 10. 
The ewes are brought into the yard and foaled ; but are often sent out almost 
immediately after upon rye -grass or young rye. All this is the care of the 
shepherd, who has a very anxious time of it, rising in the night to see if all 
is right. The sheep feed at large upon the rye-grass, but are folded upon the 
rye, especially at night. In June the pasture is good enough to turn them out 
upon the downs. The lot of the shepherd is a severe one, for he is out every 



LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 



119 



day in the year, Sundays included. When the winds blow on the downs he 
makes a screen of his cloak, hanging it on the furze-bushes or on the wat- 
tles. This is his shelter for the day when the rain-storms come up from 
the Channel." 

Mrs. Gibbons gives some figures which show the results of 
sheep-raising in England: "A lamb fair has been lately held 
at which this farmer sold 300 lambs between four and five 
months old at an average price of 30 shillings, or about $7.50 
each. These lambs are bought by farmers who are not breeders 
to be fattened for the market. I heard of a recent fair to which 
17,000 lambs were brought." Thus, a Southdown lamb of four 
or five months old is worth to the English sheep -raiser nearly 
twice as much as a sheep, fattened for slaughter, is with us. 
And these lambs are not bought for immediate slaughter, but 
to be fattened for the market, their value being thus greatly 
enhanced. With us " lamb " is the rule, mutton the exception ; 
in Great Britain mutton is the rule, lamb the exception. 

The English mode of sheep -raising for the market may not 
probably be profitably carried out here to its full extent, and 
only very partially in the great sheep -raising sections, where 
land is cheap. But it is well worthy of consideration whether 
it might not be remunerative in the older States to pay more 
attention to raising sheep for the market as well as for the 
wool. Of course the farmer who undertakes this will select 
breeds adapted to that purpose ; that is, those which attain a 
much greater weight than the ones usual among us. 

The simple fact that the product of wool has, upon the 
whole, increased in a ratio greater than that of the increase 
of the population, shows that it is in so far a remunerative 
occupation. Taking into view only the wool produced upon 
farms, as given in the Census Reports, we find that the increase 
from 1870 to 1880 was 55 per cent; being, as a whole, not 
quite twice that of the ratio of increase of the population. 
But in some wool- growing sections the percentage of increase 
is very much greater than that of the population ; while in 
others it is very much smaller, and in some there has been 
not merely a comparative but an absolute decrease. A few 



120 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



data will show the sections in which experience teaches that 
wool-growing has been found to be profitable or unprofitable 
in comparison with other agricultural industries. 

In Oregon the increase from 1870 to 1880 was 470 per cent.; 
in Texas, 400 per cent.; in Missouri, 100 per cent.; in Tennes- 
see, 54 per cent. ; in California, 47 per cent. ; in Michigan, 33 
per cent.; in Ohio (which in 1870 and 1880 produced more 
wool by half than any other State) the increase was 25 per 
cent.; in Pennsylvania, 29 per cent.; in Iowa the product of 
both years was about the same. In New York (which in 1870 
produced more wool than any other State, except Ohio and 
California) there was in 1880 a decrease of 18 per cent.; in 
Vermont, a decrease of 1 1 per cent. The general result of all 
is, that when land comes to have a greatly increased value the 
growing of wool becomes unprofitable in comparison with other 
products. Agriculture and dairy products take its place to a 
marked extent. 

Still, there are vast regions where unoccupied land is yet 
abundant, and where the climate is so mild that sheep can find 
their own food throughout the year; and there wool -growing 
upon a large scale will be profitable for years to come. And 
there is no reason to apprehend that these regions will soon be 
exhausted. If wool- growing shall be gradually superseded by 
other industries in California and Ohio, as it has been in New 
York and Vermont, there will still be left for it vast regions in 
Texas, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, and Dakota. 

Swine. — Swine are useful solely for their flesh and their fat. 
Table IX. shows their numbers in each, of the States in 1880 
and 1870. In 1880 there were in the United States 47,681,700 
swine — probably more than there are in all Europe. In 1870 
there were 25,134,569 — an increase in 1880 of 90 per cent.; 
their value, at $4.25 per head, being $202,657,620. 

Swine are found in considerable numbers in every State of 
the Union, there being seventeen States in each of which are 
more than a million. They are numerous, compared with the 
population, in the group of Central, Western, and North-western 
States, in which Indian-corn is the great agricultural product. 



CELEBRATED AMERICAN RUNNERS. 




FOXHALL WINNING THE GRAND PRIX. 
See Note 4. 



LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 



123 



Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky contain 
fully 50 per cent, of all the swine in the United States. They 
are numerous also in several of the Southern States; Alabama, 
Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas hav- 
ing nearly 20 per cent, of the whole. 

The slaughter of swine, more than of any other live-stock, 
is carried on in extensive slaughter-houses. In these, in 1880, 
there were 17,847,409 swine killed or bought dressed, their 
average gross weight being 248 pounds, and their value, when 
slaughtered and packed, $176,447,996, or $9.90 each. Of the 
products of swine, 506,077,052 pounds of pork were sold fresh; 
859,045,987 pounds were salted. There were 1,122,742,816 
pounds of bacon and ham, and 501,471,698 pounds of lard. 
Illinois takes the lead in this business, slaughtering about 
6,000,000 swine, or more than one -third of the whole num- 
ber. Ohio and New Jersey come next, each slaughtering 
about 1,500,000. Thus, more than half of the killing of swine 
in the Union is done in these three States, although only 
about one -third of the swine slaughtered in those States are 
raised there. 

There can be no doubt that the business of raising swine 
must be an increasing one in all of the great corn-growing sec- 
tions. Without it, indeed, the production of corn would be far 
less than it is, for probably much more than half of this grain 
is converted into pork, instead of being used directly as human 
food. 

Horses. — The number of horses on farms in the United 
States in 1880 was 10,357,488; in 1870 there were 7,145,370 — 
an increase in 1880 of 45 per cent. But the number in i860 
was 6,249,1 74— only 12 per cent, less than it was in 1870. This 
comparative decrease between i860 and 1870 was owing to the 
waste occasioned by the civil war, which must, therefore, have 
cost the lives of fully a million of horses. This loss was very 
heavy in the Southern States. In Virginia, Georgia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee there were, in 1870, 30 
per cent, fewer horses than in i860; and in 1880 there were 
still 18 per cent, fewer than in i860. The South has not, there- 



124 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



fore, in this respect, even yet recovered from the devastation of 
the civil war. 

If to the number of horses on farms we add 1,500,000 — the 
estimated number not on farms — there were in 1880 in the 
United States 11,857,488 horses, their value, at #55 each, being 
$652,846,840. The raising of horses must be a lucrative busi- 
ness. That of fine breeds in particular, though requiring a large 
capital, having proved itself very profitable to those who have 
been able to engage in it. 

Mules and Asses. — The mule is the especial working an- 
imal in the South. Their number in 1880 was 1,812,808; in 
1870 there were 1,125,415 — an increase in 1880 of 62 per cent. 
The South suffered in these animals during the civil war, al- 
though not to such an extent as in horses. Their number in 
i860 was a few thousand more than in 1870. Their great ratio 
of increase — more than double that of the population — and the 
price which they command is evidence of their being indispensa- 
ble in the section to which they are specially adapted. Their 
average price, $61 per head, exceeds that of any other live-stock, 
and their total value is $110,581,288. Missouri, Kentucky, and 
Illinois are the great mule-breeding States, and the industry is 
a very lucrative one. 

Poultry should, properly, be classed as live-stock. The 
raising of poultry for the flesh and the eggs is a very considera- 
ble branch of farming industry. There are very few farms upon 
which fowls are not kept, and the value of their flesh and eggs 
is large in the aggregate, although in each individual case it is 
so small that the Census takes no separate account of it, and 
precise statistics are unattainable. But there is no doubt that 
the value of the poultry and eggs consumed is greater than that 
of mutton. In the Census Report of 1840 the value of the poul- 
try of the United States was estimated at $13,000,000. The pop- 
ulation has more than trebled since that time, and if the ratio 
be assumed to be the same, the present value of poultry will be 
about $40,000,000. It is not probable that the raising of poultry 
on a very large scale by a single grower will be attempted, but 
as an adjunct for every farmer it is worth far more attention 



LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 



125 



than it has received. Mr. Bement's American Poulterer s Com- 
panion* was for a long time our most valuable authority on this 
subject. He gives the result of his own experience and that of 
others. That result is especially valuable, as showing, not what 
possibly, and under unusual conditions, might be attained, but 
what was actually attained under ordinary conditions. But 
within a few years such improvements have been effected in 
the breeds of poultry that the average number of eggs from 
each hen may be at least fifty per cent, more than were secured 
by this author, who thinks that "from 80 to 100 eggs per hen 
for a year would be a fair estimate for a number of fowls kept 
together." His own experience with such breeds as were then 
attainable, conducted through five years, is of decided practical 
value. He says : 

"The first year I had 100 hens, which were suffered to run at large, and I 
got but a little more than 1000 eggs. The second year my hens commenced 
laying on the 7th of February, and between that period and the 15th of August, 
when they commenced to moult, I obtained 2655 eggs from 60 hens. The third 
year they commenced laying on the 8th of January, and continued laying until 
the 27th of September, when they ceased entirely, but commenced again on the 
13th of October, and continued to lay until the 18th of November, when they 
ceased, and commenced again on the 1st of December; and up to the 1st of 
January they produced more than 4000 eggs. The fourth year I had 71 hens, 
which produced within the year 3509 eggs. The fifth year I kept 60 hens, and 
obtained 3978 eggs." 

Mr. Bement treats fully of the management of fowls and of 
the food best adapted to them. He says : 

" Poultry, when well managed, might be of great profit to the farmer ; but 
where many are kept they ought not to be allowed to go at large. In that case 
little or no profit can be expected, for not only will many of the eggs be lost, 
and many of themselves, perhaps, be destroyed by vermin, but at many seasons 
they do much mischief in the barn-yard and the field. It is thought that poul- 
try ought always to be confined; but if so, instead of a close, dark, diminutive 
hovel, they should have a spacious, airy place, properly constructed. But, 
whether confined or suffered to run at large, there should always be a poultry- 
house and yard where they can be regularly fed. If possible, it should be on 
the south or south-east side of a hill or bank, so that one side of the wall may 



* The American Poulterer's Companion. By C. N. Bement. 



126 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



be set against the side of the hill, and, if of stone, to be laid on mortar, which 
will add very much to the warmth of the room. It would be well, when building 
the wall, to leave holes or recesses some fifteen inches square, in which shallow 
boxes or drawers may be placed for the nests ; these drawers can be removed 
when necessary, and cleaned and freed from vermin. 

" The poultry-house should be neither too cold in winter nor too hot in 
summer, and should be made so attractive to the hen as to prevent her from 
laying her eggs in any other place. The extent of the place should be propor- 
tioned to the number of fowls to be kept in it ; but it will be better too small 
than too large, particularly in winter, for the mutual imparting of electricity and 
animal heat ; and it has been found when fowls are kept apart they are much 
less prolific. 

" The driest and warmest soils are best adapted to the successful rearing of 
domestic fowls. They endure extreme cold much better than they do moisture, 
and the poultry-yard should neither be wet nor exposed to cold winds. There 
should, if possible, be running water in it ; and under cover should be placed 
ashes or dry sand, where they may indulge in their natural proclivity of rolling 
and basking or bathing themselves. Gravel, broken shells, crushed bones, and 
old lime mortar should always be placed within their reach." 

We condense some of the more important directions given 
in respect to the food of fowls : 

" Every alimentary substance, even when buried in manure, agrees with 
fowls, and nothing is lost by them. The smallest seed cannot escape their 
piercing eye ; the fly, most rapid of flight, cannot avoid the promptitude with 
which she darts her bill; the worm that comes up to breathe at the surface of 
the ground has not time to shrink back before it is caught by the head and 
drawn up. 

" It is customary to throw to fowls in a poultry-yard, once or twice a day, 
a quantity of grain somewhat less than they would consume if they had an 
abundance. But they are more easily satisfied than might be supposed from 
the voracity which they exhibit when fed by hand. It has been found that 
there is considerable economy in feeding wheat, corn, and barley well boiled, 
as the grain is thus increased in bulk one-fourth, and the same bulk seems to 
satisfy them ; but there is no saving in boiling oats, buckwheat, or rye. Pota- 
toes are an excellent and economical article for feeding fowls ; but if they are 
fed upon them alone, without grain, they are apt to produce ' scouring.' Pota- 
toes should always be fed boiled, and warm, but not hot enough to burn the 
mouth of the fowl. They should also be broken or mashed a little, for when 
one is thrown to them whole they seem to mistake it for a stone, and will often 
leave it untouched, while they will pounce eagerly upon it if the skin is broken 
so that they can see the white of the interior. Any kind of boiled vegetables 
are excellent food for fowls, but they are not fond of raw vegetables. 




A BARN-YARD. 
See Note 5. 



LIVE-STOCK, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 



129 



• ; Fowls eat readily grass, and many kinds of plants and leaves. They relish 
the leaves of lettuce, endive, spinach, and cabbage, but reject those of the straw- 
berry, celery, parsnip, carrot, and potato. Fowls are fond of all sorts of the ref- 
use of the table and kitchen, such as crumbs of bread, fragments of pastry, bits 
of spoiled fruit, and apple-parings. 

" There is perhaps no species of insect which fowls will not eat. They are 
very fond of flies, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and every sort of worm, grub, 
and maggot. From this, and from the eagerness with which they pounce upon 
any scrap of meat which they can discover, it might be supposed that they are 
more carnivorous than graminivorous. But the fact is, that this arises from the 
fact that animal food is in general the exception in their regular diet, and is, 
therefore, a dainty. Feed a fowl mainly upon meat, and it will show the same 
voracity for grain. But advantage can be taken of this omnivorous propensity 
to save every scrap of meat, which would otherwise be wasted. It makes little 
difference whether the meat is raw or cooked, salt or fresh ; and fish is equally 
acceptable to them as flesh. If there is any one thing of which a hen is more 
fond than another, it is bits of suet or fat ; but if this is given to her in any con- 
siderable quantity, she will soon grow too fat to continue to lay eggs." 

An incidental advantage in poultry-raising is, that the feed- 
ing of the fowls and the hunting up of the eggs can be per- 
formed by women just as well as by men ; by children just as 
well as by adults. It is a work for which children have an in- 
stinctive fondness. Few boys or girls who are able to run about 
need much urgency to feed the chickens or hunt for the eggs. 
While, therefore, it is not probable that poultry-raising will be 
adopted by many persons as an exclusive occupation, it can be 
made a very remunerative adjunct to the ordinary work of al- 
most every farmer. The high prices at which eggs are sold is 
proof that the supply for sale is now less than the demand ; and 
there is no reason why the supply cannot be made equal to any 
possible demand ; and, moreover, eggs are imperishable to such 
an extent that the producer is not forced to sell his eggs at any 
particular day in order that they may not spoil on his hands. 

Bees. — The honey-bee, as a partially domesticated creature, 
finds its place among live - stock. The keeping of bees was for- 
merly a considerable branch of industry. The Census of 1850 
reported the production of 14,853,790 pounds of beeswax and 
honey in that year. In i860 there were 1,322,787 pounds of 
wax and 23,366,357 pounds of honey — an increase of 68 per 

8 



130 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



cent. Great exertions were put forth to extend the business of 
bee-keeping. Bees reported to be much more productive than 
the native species were imported from Italy, and improved hives 
were invented. One apiarian reported a profit in a single year 
of $1800 from 130 hives; another had cleared $35 in one year 
from a single colony ; and it was affirmed that from every acre 
favorably situated in the United States a pound of honey might 
be produced, if the bees could only be had. But, notwithstand- 
ing all this, the business declined, and in 1870 the product was 
14,702,815 pounds of honey and 681,129 pounds of wax — a de- 
crease in 1870 of 40 per cent. The Census Report of 1880 
makes no separate mention of these products, although 10 16 
" apiarists " are reported, of whom only 1 7 were females. 

That honey in almost any quantity can be produced is un- 
questionable ; and a pound of honey will readily sell for two or 
three times as much as a pound of sugar. Quite recently it has 
been suggested that " bee-raising particularly commends itself to 
ladies, because there is so little labor involved in it ; it is like 
having a colony of small slaves at work while the owner is oc- 
cupied with other things." 



PRODUCTS OF THE DAIRY. 



131 



CHAPTER XI. 

PRODUCTS OF THE DAIRY. 

MILK, butter, and cheese constitute the products of the 
dairy. Table X., on the following page, shows for each 
State the quantity of these produced in 1870 and 1880. 

Milk. — It is estimated that an average cow, of our present 
breeds, will yield 450 gallons of milk per year. At this rate the 
twelve and a half millions of milch cows in the United States 
would yield more than five thousand six hundred millions 
(5,625,000,000) of gallons a year. Probably the actual produc- 
tion is considerably less than this, for very frequently the cows 
themselves are poor milkers and are in bad condition. The 
figures in the Census Report of 1880 enable us to account for 
the uses to which nearly 3,500,000,000 gallons were put. 

The quantity of milk is given therein at a little more than 
530,000,000 gallons. By this must be intended the milk sold 
as such, not including the large quantity used on the farms, 
nor the much larger quantity manufactured into butter and 
cheese. But, of this milk sold, about 100,000,000 gallons were 
sold to butter and cheese factories, the quantity sold and con- 
sumed as milk being about 430,000,000 gallons. The value of 
all the milk sold, at 10 cents per gallon, was #53,000,000. It 
is estimated that upon an average three gallons of milk are 
required to produce a pound of butter, and two gallons for a 
pound of cheese. Besides that made in the factories, there 
were about 780,000,000 pounds of butter and 27,000,000 pounds 
of cheese produced upon farms, which required 2,880,000,000 
gallons of milk. Thus, we have 3,416,000,000 gallons of milk 
sold either as such or made into butter and cheese. There are 



132 THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



TABLE X.— DAIRY PRODUCTS. 



States and 
Territories. 


Milk. 


Butter. 


Cheese. 




























1870. 


18S0. 


1870. 


1880. 


1S70. 


1S80. 




Gallons. 


Gallons. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Alabama 


104,657 


267,380 


3,213,753 


7,997,719 


2,732 


14,091 


Arizona 


4,800 


42,618 


800 


61,817 


14,500 


18,360 


Arkansas 


31,350 


316,858 


2,753,931 


7,790,013 


2,119 


26,301 




3,693,021 


12,353,178 


7,969,744 


14,084,405 


3,395,074 


2,566,618 


Colorado 


19,520 


506,706 


392,920 


860,379 


33,626 


10,867 


Connecticut ..... 


6,253,259 


12,289,893 


6,716,007 


8,198,995 


2,031,194 


826,195 






415,119 


209,735 


2,000,955 


1,850 


39,437 


Delaware 


758,603 


1,132,434 


1,171,963 


1,876,275 


315 


1,712 


Dist. of Columbia 


126.077 


496,789 


4,495 


20,290 






Florida 


3,002 


40,967 


100,989 


353,156 


25 


2,406 




109,139 


374,645 


4,499,572 


7,424,485 


4,292 


19,151 




11,250 


15,627 


111,480 


310,644 


4,464 


20,295 




9,258,545 


45,419,719 


36,083,405 


53,657,943 


1,661,703 


1,035,069 




936,983 


6,723,840 


22,915,385 


37,377,797 


283,807 


367,561 




688.800 


15,965,612 


27,512,179 


55,481,958 


1,087,741 


1,075,988 


Kansas 


196,662 


1,360,235 


5,022,758 


21,671,762 


226,607 


483,987 




1,345,779 


2,513,209 


11,874,978 


18,211,904 


115,219 


58,468 


Louisiana 


833,928 


256,241 


322,405 


916,089 


11,747 


7,618 




1,374,091 


3,720,783 


11,636,482 


14,103,966 


1,152,590 


1,167,730 




1,520,101 


4,722,944 


5,014,729 


7,485,871 


6,732 


17,416 


Massachusetts . . . 


15,284,057 


29,662,953 


6,559,161 


9,655,587 


2,245,873 


829,528 


Michigan. . 


2,277,122 


7,898,273 


24,400,185 


38,821,890 


670,804 


440,540 


Minnesota 


208,130 


1,504,407 


9,522,010 


19,161,385 


233,977 


523,138 




17,052 


427,492 


2,613,521 


7,454,657 


3,099 


4,239 


Missouri 


857,704 


3,173,017 


14,455,825 


28,572,124 


204,090 


283,484 


Montana Ter 


105,186 


41,165 


408,080 


403,738 


25,603 


55,570 




95,059 


625,783 


1,539,535 


9,725,198 


46,142 


230,819 


Nevada 


63,850 


149,889 


110,880 


335,188 




17,420 


New Hampshire.. 


2,352,884 


5,739,128 


5,965,080 


7,247,272 


849,118 


807,076 


New Jersey 


5,373,323 


15,472,783 


8,266,023 


9,513,835 


38,229 


66,518 


New Mexico Ter. 


813 


10,036 


12,912 


44,827 


27,239 


10,501 




135,775,919 


231,965,533 


107,147,526 


111,922,423 


22,769,964 


8,362,590 


North Carolina . . 


17,145 


446,798 


4,297,834 


7,212,507 


75,185 


57,380 


Ohio 


22,275,344 


46,801,537 


50,266,372 


67,634,263 


8,169,486 


2,170,245 


Oregon 

Pennsylvania. . . . 


107,367 


227,540 


l,418,d/o 


/i,44o, (do 


79,333 


153,198 


14,411,729 


36,540,540 


60,834,644 


79,336,012 


1,145,209 


1,008,686 


Rhode Island. . . . 


1 ft A A (\A A 

1,944,044 


o,ooi, <UO 


Oil 1 QQ 


1 nn.7 103 


oi,y to 


O i,l il 


South Carolina. . . 


241,815 


257,186 


1,461,980 


3,196,851 


169 


16,018 


Tennessee 


415,786 


1,006,795 


9,571,069 


17,886,369 


142,240 


98,740 


Texas 


62,771 


1,296,806 


3,712,747 


13,899,320 


34,342 


58,466 


Utah Territory. . . 


11,240 


155,263 


310,335 


1,052,903 


69,603 


126,727 




3,835,840 


6,526,550 


17,844,396 


25,240,826 


4,830,700 


1,545,789 




266,812 


1,224,469 


6,979,269 


11,470,923 


71,743 


85,535 


Washington Ter.. 


21,060 


226,703 


407,306 


1,356,103 


17,465 


109,200 


West Virginia . . . 


144,895 


750,279 


5,044,475 


9,309,517 


32,429 


100,300 




2,059,105 


25,156,977 


22,473,036 


33,353,045 


1,591,798 


2,281,411 


Wyoming Ter 


4,980 


75,343 


1,200 


105,643 




2,930 


Total 


235,500,599 


530,129,748 


514,092,683 


777,249,657 


53,492,153 


27,272,489 



no means of ascertaining even approximately the quantity which 
is consumed upon farms as food for calves and the like ; but at 
the very lowest estimate it must amount to several hundred 
millions of gallons. Assuming 450 gallons of milk per year 
to be the yield of an average milch cow, this is far less than 



PRODUCTS OF THE DAIRY. 



133 



the quantity which is given by cows of better breeds. In Har- 
pers Magazine for January, 1883, Mr. Conrad Wilson gives 
some very important statistics upon this point, which show 
the possibilities of what may be attained under the most favor- 
able conditions. 

Of nine cows in the State of New York, all of them of the 
Holstein breed, the highest product of any one in a year was 
2250 gallons, the lowest of any of them was 1770 gallons; the 
average of the whole nine being 2000 gallons. Of five cows 
of Short-horn, Devon, Ayrshire, and Jersey breeds the average 
was 1450 gallons; the highest being 15 10 gallons by a Short- 
horn, the lowest, 11 90 gallons, by a Jersey. As far as quan- 
tity of milk is concerned, the Holstein breed holds the first 
place. But in regard to the production of butter — more im- 
portant than the mere quantity of milk — the pre-eminence be- 
longs to the Jersey breed. The highest record for butter for 
a Short-horn is 513 pounds in a year; for a Holstein, 509; for 
a Devon, 480; for an Ayrshire, 380; the average being 473 
pounds. Of ten selected Jerseys the average was 596 pounds ; 
the highest for any of them being 778, the lowest 500 pounds. 

The quantity of milk required for a pound of butter varies 
greatly. Mr. Wilson finds three cases in which four quarts of 
milk gave a pound of butter, and three more in which a pound 
was produced from less than five quarts. A pound of butter 
from between five and six quarts, inclusive, is recorded in about 
twenty-five instances ; a pound from eight and a half quarts or 
less is reported in a still greater number of instances, including 
the averages of several selected herds. In all these instances 
the trial was, of course, made under the most favorable condi- 
tions. Not only were the best breeds chosen, but the best indi- 
viduals of each breed ; and they received the strictest care and 
the most abundant feeding. And, moreover, the manufacture 
of the butter was conducted in the most skilful manner, so that 
the utmost possible quantity should be produced. But when we 
compare the 1 500 or 2000 gallons of milk and the 500, 600, and 
700 and more pounds of butter a year from a single cow, which 
have been attained, with the 450 gallons of milk and 30 or 40 



134 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



pounds of butter, the average product of our native cows, the 
profit which may be realized from improved breeding is appar- 
ent. But improvement in the breed is by no means the only 
thing to be attended to in enhancing the products of the dairy. 
Mr. Wilson well says : 

" It is evident that pedigree is a very essential element in the value of cows. 
Whenever a young cow marks the beginning of her career with an unusual flow 
of milk or yield of butter after her first calf, it is not only a proof of the gener- 
ous bounty of Nature, but reveals, also, a new possibility of production that is 
always valuable to the owner. But it is also true, and no less important to 
know, that grade animals in a well -managed dairy can be made quite as pro- 
ductive as thorough-breds, and often more so. Yet this does not at all imply 
that the latter can be dispensed with ; for we cannot have a good quality of 
grades without a good quality of blood to start with. Pedigree is one of the 
factors of a good cow, but it is not by any means the only one. Maximum 
results in the dairy are not the outcome of any single condition. They depend 
not merely on the capacity and breed of the cow, but also, and equally, on the 
intelligence and good management of the owner ; and, what is equally true but 
seldom considered, even the capacity of the cow is itself, to a large extent, the 
product of human skill." 

But, leaving out of view these exceptional cases, there is no 
lack of inducements in the same direction drawn from the com- 
mon line of well-conducted dairying. It is easy to see that the 
larger the number of factors included in a given trial in any line 
in husbandry, the more instructive and valuable such trial will 
be. For example, says Mr. Wilson : 

"The Hon. Zadok Pratt, of Greene County, New York, with his trial of 
fifty-nine cows, continued through nine years, showed that with a yearly milk 
product of less than 2500 quarts per cow, the average yield of butter was 200 
pounds, worth (including the skimmed milk) $80 ; and, further, that the cost of 
the butter was less than 8 cents per pound ; while the net yearly profit of the 
herd was in reality over $3000. Again, it appears from a trial of twenty-three 
cows, by the Hon. G. W. Boutwell, of Massachusetts, that the cost of the but- 
ter was still less than in the trial by Mr. Pratt, while the yearly rate of profit 
for the herd showed a wider margin." 

The recorded results, amply vouched for, of numerous suc- 
cessful trials made by other practical men, whose experience 
includes and represents several thousand cows, amply confirms 



PRODUCTS OF THE DAIRY. 



135 



those which have been cited. In view of them all Mr. Wilson 
says : 

" Experience has already proved the possibility of keeping two cows on an 
acre under full feed throughout the year. If, according to the yield of milk per 
cow, as given above, it shall be made to appear that milk can be produced at 
the yearly rate of even 2500 or 3000 quarts per cow, and at a cost of one cent 
a quart, and butter at the rate of 200 to 300 pounds per cow, at a cost of six 
or seven cents per pound ; and, further, that these results are fairly within the 
reach of the average dairyman, it will then be seen that some real progress has 
been made by our farmers towards solving the food question of the future." 

The production of milk being the immediate object of the 
dairy -farmer, the farmer must so feed and otherwise manage 
his cows that they shall be in a condition to yield the great- 
est amount of milk of which they are capable. Mrs. Gibbons 
tells us that in the great milk -producing region of England 
" the cows never come out of the stable except when the 
weather is dry, when they are turned into the yard or into 
rough pasture. In the summer they are fed with green vetch- 
es (a kind of coarse pea), among which enough oats had been 
sowed to hold up these climbing plants. Besides this green 
fodder, each cow receives daily about a bushel of brewer's 
grains or malted barley. Mangel-wurzel is fed to the cows 
in winter, each animal getting daily one bushel of sliced man- 
gel, one bushel of the grains, and as much oat -straw as she 
wants. The cows average tw T o and a half gallons of milk per 
day. But the Durhams, which are considered the best milk- 
ers, not less than six gallons a day." 

The extent to which milch cows with us should be pastured 
or kept under cover will depend upon various conditions. But 
in most parts of the country they must be housed for a part 
of the year; and it is indispensable that the stable be prop- 
erly constructed. A cow, in order to maintain health, needs- 
pure air as certainly as does a man. When housed she lives 
in an artificial condition, and provision must accordingly be 
made against the danger arising from this source. She must 
be protected from sudden and great changes of temperature.. 
A healthy person, living habitually in the open air, may with 



136 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



impunity encounter fluctuations in temperature which would 
be dangerous to an equally healthy person living habitually 
within doors. It is precisely so with a cow or any other do- 
mesticated animal. 

As to food for cows, our range is much wider than that 
of the English milk -producer. With him, indeed, "brewers 
grains " are more attainable than with us ; but the use of these, 
except in very moderate proportions, as compared with other 
food, is strongly questioned. We can raise the turnips and 
other roots quite as well as he can, if it shall be found to 
be profitable. As to the various sorts of green fodder and 
"stover," we have at hand an immense supply in our regular 
corn-crop. Of this Mr. Wilson, from whom we have so freely 
quoted, says : 

" In a recent letter to the Commissioner of Agriculture on the subject of 
'ensilage,' which was published in the American Dairyman, I submitted some 
important facts relating to the corn-crop, which have an important bearing on 
the question of feeding, and on the products of the dairy. It was therein shown 
that the total annual yield of 'corn stover,' in its various forms, is not less than 
120,000,000 tons. Strangely as this stalk-crop has been ignored by the Census 
Bureau, it has none the less influenced, and for many years largely increased, 
the sum-total of milk, butter, and cheese supplied by our farmers to the mar- 
kets of the world." 

The sorghum -plant promises, also, to form a further addi- 
tion to our stock of " stover ;" and if ensilage shall be proven 
to possess, in any good degree, the advantages claimed for it 
by its advocates, the grass-crop, instead of being converted into 
hay, will be chiefly used as green fodder. 

But, whatever else may be yet more or less in question as to 
the feeding of milch cows, it is settled beyond all question that 
the " swill slops " of distilleries are wholly unfit for that purpose ; 
and by the laws of the State of New York the milk of cows fed 
on this swill is declared to be unwholesome, and its sale is for- 
bidden. Whether it may be used in very small proportions, and 
in connection with other food, is, perhaps, a question not yet 
fully settled. Mr. C. L. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts 
Board of Agriculture, says : 




JERSEYS. 
See Note 6. 



PRODUCTS OF THE DAIRY. 



139 



" Properly fed, in limited quantities, in combination with more bulky food, 
still-swill or slops may be a valuable article for the dairyman. But if given 
without the addition of other kinds of food it soon affects the health of the 
animals fed on it ; and no pure and healthy milk can be produced by a dis- 
eased animal. The milk of cows fed upon swill-milk contains a subtle poison, 
which is as difficult to detect by any known process as the miasma of an atmos- 
phere tainted by yellow-fever or cholera. Its effect upon the system of young 
children is very destructive, causing diseases of various kinds, and, if contin- 
ued, certain death." 

The effects of swill -milk upon adults would undoubtedly be 
equally deleterious, if their food, like that of infants, consisted 
mainly of milk. Moreover, the flesh of a cow fed mainly upon 
distillers swill is utterly unfit for food. It is really half -putrid 
before the animal is killed. The only safe and wise course is 
for the farmer or dairyman to refrain entirely from feeding his 
milch cows upon distiller's slops, at least until far wider knowl- 
edge than has yet been attained has shown that it may be prop- 
erly used within certain limits, and what those limits are. 

That milk, directly and as such, should enter more largely 
than it does into our food is beginning to be more and more 
acknowledged. But there are many circumstances in which it 
is not easy to obtain it, as on shipboard. To meet this want 
milk is boiled in a vacuum-pan, at a temperature of some 6o° 
below the boiling-point of water, until four or five quarts are 
reduced to one, and a proportion of refined cane-sugar is added. 
This "preserved" milk, hermetically sealed in cans, will keep 
for years. For immediate use milk is also condensed by boil- 
ing, without the addition of sugar. It will keep for several 
days, and is by many preferred to fresh milk. In cities it is 
probably safer to rely upon this condensed milk, when prepared 
by a reputable establishment, than to trust to the chances of 
an irresponsible milkman. Condensed milk, when properly 
prepared, retains its original flavor; and its preparation has 
become a growing and lucrative industry — confined, however, 
to large companies. But the chief purpose for which milk is 
used is for the manufacture of butter and cheese. 

Cheese. — The production of cheese has undergone marked 
fluctuations within the last thirty years, and there has been an 



140 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



almost entire change in the mode of its manufacture. In 1850 
the entire production in the United States was 105,535,803 
pounds; in i860 it was 103,663,927 pounds, being a slight 
decrease. Up to this time cheese had been made wholly upon 
farms, but now factories were established for its manufacture, 
by which now far the greater part is produced. In 1870 the 
quantity was 162,927,382 pounds, being an increase over i860 
of 57 per cent. Of this cheese about one-third was made in 
factories, and two-thirds on farms. In 1880 the production was 
199,022,984 pounds, being an increase over 1870 of 22 per cent. 
Of this cheese nearly seven-eighths was made in factories. The 
value of the cheese product of 1880, at eight cents per pound, 
was about $16,000,000. 

Of the 171,750,495 pounds of factory cheese about 63 per 
cent, was made in the State of New York, where there were 
1652 butter and cheese factories; about 14 per cent, in Ohio 
and Wisconsin, where there were 864 factories ; and the re- 
mainder in twenty -six States. Of the 27,272,489 pounds of 
cheese produced upon farms about 30 per cent, was made in 
New York; 25 per cent, in California, Ohio, and Wisconsin; 
and the remainder in each of the other States. The produc- 
tion of cheese has, however, hardly been attempted in any of 
the States south of the Potomac, in all of which scarcely 
500,000 pounds were made in 1880. The relative decline be- 
tween 1870 and 1880 in the production of cheese is greatest 
in the States where the largest quantities are made. Thus, in 
New York the increase was only 8 per cent. This indicates 
that cheese-making in these States, even when the manufacture 
is systematized in factories, is relatively unremunerative ; or, 
rather, that the milk can be more profitably used either by 
selling it as such, or by making it into butter. But there is no 
apparent reason why cheese - making might not be profitably 
carried on by farmers in certain sections of the South where 
the climate is especially adapted to cattle -raising, and where 
there is no market for milk. Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, and Georgia would seem to be well adapted for 
cheese - making. 



PRODUCTS OF THE DAIRY. 



141 



Butter. — Butter is by far the most important of our dairy 
products, and the ratio of the increase of its production has for 
the last thirty years exceeded that of the increase of population 
at each decennial period, with the exception of i860- 1870. In 
1850 there were produced 313,345,306 pounds of butter; in 
i860 there were 459,681,372 pounds; increase, 46 per cent., 
that of the population being 38 per cent. In 1870 the prod- 
uct of butter was 514,092,683 pounds; increase, 12 per cent., 
that of the population being 25 per cent. The civil war di- 
verted much of the industry of the country away from agri- 
cultural pursuits. In 1880 the production of butter was 
793,721,450 pounds; increase, 55 per cent., that of the popu- 
lation being 30 per cent. Or, taking the whole period, 1850- 
1880, together, the production of butter has increased from 
313,345,893 pounds to 793,721,450 pounds, or 153 per cent.; 
while during this period the population has increased from 
19,553,068 to 50,155,783, or 156 per cent. That is, taking the 
whole thirty years, the ratio of increase in the production of 
butter has been almost the same as that of the increase of 
population ; while for the last ten years it has been nearly 
double, showing that the business of butter- making has been 
a lucrative one as compared with other branches of industry. 

Within a few years a change has been introduced in the 
manufacture of butter similar to that made in the manufacture 
of cheese. In several sections butter-factories have been estab- 
lished, to which the farmers sell their milk, instead of making 
it into butter themselves. In 1880 only about 2 per cent, of 
the whole product was factory butter, but the proportion has 
increased very considerably since. The factory butter com- 
manded about 24 cents per pound — considerably more than the 
general average of even good grades. About one quarter of all 
the factory butter was produced in the State of New York. 

As is shown in Table X., about 15 per cent, of all the butter 
of the United States is made in New York, which produced 
(including factory butter) 115,119,847 pounds. About 33 per 
cent, was made in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, and Illinois, each 
of which produced more than 50,000,000 pounds. About 20 



142 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



per cent, was made in Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ver- 
mont, each of which produced more than 25,000,000 pounds. 
Butter is made in considerable quantities in most of the other 
States, but less than elsewhere in the Southern States, none of 
which, except Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, produced as much 
as 10,000,000 pounds. 

The total value of the butter produced in the United States 
in 1880, at 20 cents per pound, was $158,744,290. This was 
the general average of the whole product ; but a very considera- 
ble proportion brought much less than this, while a few of the 
very choicest grades commanded a .dollar a pound, and from 
that all the way down to 25 cents. There is no valid reason 
why any poor butter should be brought' to market. The milk 
of some breeds of cows produces butter of much finer flavor 
than that of others, and very much depends also upon the kind 
of food ; but good butter can be made from the milk of any 
healthy cow which is fed upon suitable food, and is otherwise 
properly cared for. Bad butter is the invariable result of bad 
management, either in the manufacture or in the subsequent 
putting up for market — most likely of both. It costs very little 
more labor — although it requires much more care and skill — 
to produce a pound of good butter than a pound of bad ; and 
the expense of feeding a good milker is no greater than that 
of feeding a poor one. 

The dairy business, in its various phases, is one of the most 
profitable and one of the least hazardous of the departments of 
husbandry. The particular form to be chosen depends greatly 
upon the locality. If one's location is near a city or large town 
or manufacturing village, the most profitable mode of disposing 
of the milk will probably be to sell it as such directly to the 
consumers. If too far from such a market, making it into but- 
ter is the best course. There is little reason to apprehend that 
the home market for dairy products will be over- supplied ; for 
the rapid increase of the population of our principal cities in- 
creases the demand in them, and every new town forms of itself 
a new market for the dairy products of its vicinity, especially for 
the milk, which must be produced near by. But, whatever the 



PRODUCTS OF THE DAIRY. 



143 



particular line selected, three things demand the special atten- 
tion of every dairyman: i. Select the breeds of cows best 
adapted to your special purpose. If you propose to sell your 
milk, have the most copious milkers ; if you propose to make 
butter, choose the breed whose milk has been proved to be the 
richest; for, although the absolute quantity may be considerably 
less, it contains a larger proportion of what you want. 2. Hav- 
ing got your cows, take proper care of them, in the matter of 
food and housing. 3. If you propose to make butter, learn how 
to make the best, and how to put it up for preservation after 
it has been made. 

The reader will please note that in Table X. the figures 
give only the quantity of butter and cheese made upon farms. 
But, as noted upon page 140, much of the butter and most of 
the cheese produced in 1880 was made in factories, and not 
upon farms. This quantity has been taken into account when 
estimating the progress in these branches of farming industry. 



144 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XII. 

REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 

IN the summer of 1880 there were in the United States 
4,008,907 " farms " of land more or less " improved." There 
were 4,346,515 "farmers," properly so-called (including garden- 
ers, stock - raisers, etc.), besides 3,323,876 "agricultural labor- 
ers;" so that of the 17,392,099 persons pursuing regular occu- 
pations, 7,670,493,* or 44 per cent, were directly engaged in 
agricultural labor. There being 9 per cent, more farmers than 
farms, a small number of farms were tilled by more than 
one farmer; but nearly every farmer must be the owner of 
the soil which he cultivates, with or without the services of 
hired laborers. 

Farmers themselves, as distinguished from agricultural la- 
borers, constitute hardly 25 per cent, of those engaged in gain- 
ful pursuits ; but a very much larger proportion of the wealth of 
the country is in their possession. The assessed value of all the 
real estate in the country, in 1880, was #13,036,766,925 ; that of 
farms was $10,197,096,776, or 77 per cent, of the whole. This be- 
longed to farmers, leaving only 23 per cent, to all other classes. 
The personal property was assessed at $3,866,226,618. Of this 
at least — live-stock, $1,500,464,609, and farm implements and 
machinery, $406,520,055 — $1,906,984,655, or 49.3 per cent., was 
owned by agriculturists. Thus, out of a total assessed value of 
$16,902,993,543 of real and personal property $12,104,081,431, 
or 71 per cent., belonged to the farmers. There are no means 

* So reported in the Census, but the actual number was considerably 
larger ; for it is added : " In agricultural districts many enumerators have re- 
ported ' agricultural laborers ' simply as ' laborers.' " 



REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 145 



of ascertaining what proportion of the $4,798,912,1 12 of assessed 
property, real and personal, which constitute the remainder of 
the realized wealth of the nation, is in their hands ; but it is 
undoubtedly comparatively small. But this is certain : not less 
than 7 1 per cent, of all the wealth of the people of the United 
States belongs to the farmers, who form only 23 per cent, of the 
entire active population, as reported in the Census. 

In considering the special qualifications required for a suc- 
cessful farmer, we must, in the first place, have regard to the 
kind of material upon which his energies are to be employed. 
The mechanic has, for the most part, to do with mere inorganic 
or dead matter, which he can work up into such shape and form 
as he pleases, under the limitations prescribed by the nature of 
that material. He cannot, indeed, melt a beam of wood and 
cast it into a wheel, or hammer a block of granite into sheets, 
as though it were iron, or draw a mass of clay into wire, as 
though it were gold. But he can fashion the wood or stone, 
the clay or metal, the cotton or the wool, into any form which 
they are by nature capable of assuming. 

The farmer, on the other hand, has to deal with substances 
which have life in themselves, vegetable or animal. The seed 
which he sows is not mere dead matter, but has life in itself, 
and, under proper conditions, will reproduce and multiply itself. 
It is his business to find out what these conditions are, to aid 
them when they are present, and to supply them when they are 
partially deficient. He must, in a word, learn what are the laws 
of Nature in respect to the growth of the grain or vegetables 
which he undertakes to cultivate. In so far as he acts in ac- 
cordance with these laws will he be successful ; in just so far as 
he violates or fails to follow these laws will he be unsuccessful. 
The first of these laws is, that all plants derive their support 
from the air and the earth. , With that portion which is derived 
from the atmosphere he has little to do ; Nature does that for 
him. With that part which is drawn from the soil he has every- 
thing to do. If he will see to it that the plant has what its roots 
need, the plant itself will to a great extent look out for what it 
needs from air and sunshine. 



146 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Agricultural Chemistry. — At the very foundation of all suc- 
cessful farming lies a practical knowledge of what is called 
" Agricultural Chemistry." This involves the study of the nat- 
ure and action of those substances of which the products of 
the farm are ultimately composed. The growing plant con- 
tains a large proportion of water, varying by weight from 40 
to 90 per cent. ; and this in the proportions required by each 
sort is absolutely indispensable as the vehicle by which all the 
nutriment absorbed is conveyed from the roots or leaves to the 
other parts of the plant. Of the 10 to 60 per cent, of other 
matter which forms the dry substance of the plant, nearly 
one -half consists of carbon. This is so abundantly and uni- 
versally supplied from the carbonic acid, contained in the at- 
mosphere, that there is no need for the farmer to provide it 
in any shape. 

There may be an abundance of water present in the soil, 
and yet it will be unfertile if it lacks certain other elements. 
Any soil will be absolutely unfertile unless it contains more 
or less of each of the following substances : phosphoric acid, 
sulphuric acid, potash, lime, magnesia, and oxide of iron ; and 
these must not only be present, but they must be in a form in 
which the plant can take up. Every plant requires all of these 
constituents ; some of them more and some less of each kind. 
The plant takes them up from the soil ; and if it died where it 
grew, and no part of it was carried away, the soil would retain, 
and even increase, its fertility for an unlimited period. But in 
agricultural crops a portion of the plant is taken away, and with 
it some of these essential elements ; and the equivalent of these 
must be restored to the soil, or it will become " worn out." 

The percentage of all these elements in a fertile soil is very 
small. Careful experiments indicate that a field in which not 
more than 250 pounds of these "ash elements" are present in 
1,000,000 pounds of the soil — that is, one part in 4000 — may 
be capable of producing 33 bushels of wheat to the acre. The 
crop will exhaust 140 pounds of this, which must be renewed. 
Practically, however, the proportion of nutritive matter is much 
larger than this, but rarely more than one part in 400. Manures 



REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 147 

and other fertilizers operate mainly by supplying one or more 
of these elements abstracted by the crop from the soil. The 
successful farmer must, therefore, learn not only what kinds 
of crops are best adapted for his soil, but also what kinds of 
fertilizers are needed to restore to it the elements which the 
crop has taken away. 

Rotation of Crops. — Theoretically it is possible, by proper 
manuring, to produce an abundant crop of any kind for an in- 
definite time upon the same field. The annual inundation of 
the Nile does this for Egypt ; and in China and Japan it is 
said to be done by human means. But with us the end aimed 
at is best attained by a rotation of crops. This rests upon the 
fact that some crops not only require different nutritive elements 
from others, but also draw them from a greater depth. More- 
over, some crops — clover, for example — actually fertilize the soil 
in an indirect but actual manner; but there is a limit to the 
period in which this salutary effect is produced. 

Market- Gardening, etc. — If the farmer's avocation takes the 
form of market-gardening or fruit-raising, he needs a still more 
thorough knowledge of agricultural chemistry, and of many 
other matters. The variety of his products is greatly in- 
creased, and each crop has peculiarities of its own. Then 
the cultivation of the soil is far more thorough than is re- 
quired for ordinary field -crops. In fact, it requires more thor- 
ough study to cultivate properly a market farm or garden of 
five acres than to manage tolerably well a grain-farm or cotton- 
field of five hundred acres ; but in a favorable locality and with 
due skill the five acres may be made to yield a greater net profit 
than the five hundred usually does. 

The products of the garden and orchard are also more deli- 
cate and perishable than those of the field, and therefore require 
more care and skill in gathering and preserving them. More 
business skill is, moreover, demanded in selling the crop. For 
wheat and corn, for cotton and hay, there are established mar- 
kets, where any quantity can be sold at any time, and the fluct- 
uations in price from week to week are within very narrow 
limits ; so that the producer may be pretty certain in any given 

9 



148 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



month as to the price which his crop will bring. The gardener 
has far less certainty in this respect, and he must study his mar- 
ket much more closely, so that he may not bring his perishable 
wares to a market over-supplied at the moment. The gardener 
and orchardist, in addition to agricultural knowledge and skill, 
has ample scope for the exercise of the capacities of a trader, 
who needs to keep an intelligent lookout for markets and cus- 
tomers, and not unfrequently to create both. 

Stock -Raising. — If the farmer is — as most farmers are — 
not merely a grower of crops, but a raiser of live-stock, the 
circle of knowledge required for success, and the sphere for 
profitable enterprise, become greatly enlarged. He has to deal 
not only with vegetable but with animal life, and to make both 
of them work together for his advantage. He must study, 
not only agricultural chemistry and vegetable physiology, but 
animal physiology also. He must find out, not only what kind 
of stock may be profitable in itself, but what kind he can make 
profitable just where he is. He will not, for example, embark 
in wool-growing where land is worth a hundred dollars an acre, 
for it will cost him much more to produce a pound of wool than 
it will in Texas or Colorado, where land costs comparatively 
little ; and a pound of wool produced in New York will bring 
no more than one produced in Texas. In such respects he will 
find the statistics collated from the successive Census Reports 
to be of the highest value, for they embody the results of the 
experience of many thousands of individuals, continued for a 
series of years. If in any section some branch of industry is 
found to have increased rapidly, or even steadily, as compared 
with the increase of the population, it may be assumed that it 
has proved relatively profitable in that section. It may be, in- 
deed, that the success of any particular industry in a given sec- 
tion has been prevented by conditions which no longer exist 
there. Thus, the growth of sorghum was checked because there 
was no known means of cheaply crystallizing the juice into 
sugar. But if it shall prove that this obstacle no longer exists, 
it may be safely assumed that the culture of sorghum will here- 
after be a profitable one. 




A HOME LAWN. 
See Note 7. 



REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 151 

And, moreover, it is not to be assumed, because any branch 
of industry has not as yet been introduced into a particular 
region that it cannot be made profitable there. Florida has 
abounded in wild orange-trees for two centuries; but it, is not 
until within half a score of years that orange culture has been 
fairly begun there ; and yet it is now one of the most lucrative 
branches of planting enterprise. So, too, with the orange and 
the grape in California, which have already been treated in the 
chapter on " The Products of the Orchard." All these consid- 
erations pertain to every department of industry as well as to 
stock-raising. 

The stock -raiser needs not only wisely to choose his stock, 
but he must learn how to take care of it. He must learn what 
kinds of food are best in themselves, and which of these he can 
provide in sufficient quantities and most economically. He 
must also make himself acquainted with the habits of animals, 
especially as modified by domestication. He must learn to 
what diseases each species is especially liable ; how these dis- 
eases are occasioned ; by what means they may be prevented ; 
and how they should be treated when they do occur. Stock- 
raising is in very many cases not merely an important depart- 
ment of general farming, but the main pursuit of the raiser, the 
production of crops being altogether subsidiary. In sections 
where the conditions are favorable — say in Texas and Colorado 
at present, and in Dakota in the near future — this is, and is 
likely long to be, a very profitable business ; and it is now at- 
tracting to this country a very large amount of capital and 
enterprise. It cannot, of course, be conducted without some 
capital ; but, if a person have the requisite personal qualifica- 
tions, it may be safely commenced and profitably conducted, 
with a moderate capital to start with. 

Stock -Breeding, — A special branch of the industry of stock- 
raising is the breeding of the various species of live-stock, not 
for the direct use of their products, as butter, cheese, and wool, 
or of their flesh as food, but for the sake of producing and per- 
petuating improved breeds, which can be sold for prices far ex- 
ceeding those of ordinary animals. This industry extends to 



152 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



some extent to all live-stock, but chiefly to neat -cattle and 
horses. The reports of the regular yearly sales of the increase 
of the great breeding - farms evinces the profits which accrue 
from this business when judiciously carried on. In horse-breed- 
ing the pecuniary results are the most striking. One very re- 
cent instance clearly shows the profits which must have actually 
been realized. 

On May 19, 1883, was held the annual auction sale of the 
previous year's increase of the Elmendorf stud-farm, near Lex- 
ington, Kentucky. There were sold 23 yearling colts, the prices 
obtained for each being as follows: $5100, $3700, $3000, $2500, 
$2450, $2000 (two), $1850, $1800, $1550, $1150, $1100, $1000, 
$900, $850, $550, $450, $420, $350, $270, $240, $220, $150; 
the average being $1460.87 per head. There were sold 20 year- 
ling fillies, at the following prices: $2500, $2200, $1150, $875, 
$820, $725, $580, $575, $570, $500 (two), $425, $420, $325, 
$310, $230 (two), $195, $190; the average being $676.50. 
Thus, 43 yearling colts and fillies, the product of one breeding- 
farm, sold in one day, brought $47,130, an average of $1095.80 
per head. This, of course, must be looked upon as an ex- 
tremely favorable case. The capital invested in the thorough- 
bred sires and dams was great, and the running expenses large ; 
but when it is borne in mind that the average value of a horse 
throughout the country is less than $60, and that these yearling 
colts averaged almost $1100 per head, it is clear that the actual 
profit of this breeding-farm must have been very great. But in 
one important respect this case is not exceptional : the demand 
for blooded horses is constant, and the prices realized for them 
were never higher; and there is no probability that the busi- 
ness of rearing them will be less profitable than it now is. 

General Requisites. — The successful farmer, more than al- 
most any other man, must be able to turn his hands to many 
things. He will often have to put up his house and barn and 
fences, and always to maintain them in repair ; to keep his tools 
and implements in order. He must do for himself a thousand 
things which the resident of a town or city will have done for 
him by others. The more mechanical skill the farmer has, the 



REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 153 



greater — other things being equal — will be his probabilities of 
success. 

Farming and Capital. — As has already been shown, a very 
considerable part of the wealth of the country is in the hands of 
farmers. Making every possible allowance for discrepancies in 
the modes of valuation, the proportion in their hands cannot be 
less than two-thirds of the whole wealth of the country. Tak- 
ing into view only farms and buildings, live-stock on farms, and 
agricultural implements, the value of these, if equally divided 
among the about four and a quarter millions of farmers and 
planters, would give to each of them about $2800. It is not, of 
course, absolutely necessary that every one who begins life as a 
farmer should have that much. If he has pluck and intelli- 
gence, industry and economy, he may safely adventure in a new 
region with much less. But, even if he obtains his land by pre- 
emption under the homestead laws, or buys it — as he may — upon 
a long credit and on easy terms, of the Government or of railway 
corporations, he must have some ready money with which to put 
up a hut, buy a team, implements, and seed, and food for the 
months that must pass before the first crop can be harvested. 
The man who is to make money as a farmer must have some 
money with which to begin to make it. If he has not a few 
hundred dollars to start with, he cannot start at all. If he has 
reached the age of eight -and -twenty, and has not been indus- 
trious and economical enough to lay so much by, he may make 
up his mind pretty certainly that, whatever else he may be fit 
for, he is not the man who can take up farming with any reason- 
able hope of even moderate pecuniary success. 

For a young man who has only his hands and head to de- 
pend upon, and who yet intends to become a farmer, the best 
thing — and, indeed, in most cases, the only thing — is to hire 
himself out to work upon a farm. He must deliberately make 
up his mind that he will not unnecessarily spend a dollar of his 
earnings. Such a man will find it easy to get work and fair 
wages. If he does this in the general region where he has it in 
mind to raise himself from a farm-hand to a farmer, so much the 
better. He will learn his business better there than he can- do 



154 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



it elsewhere. If, for example, he proposes to become an orange- 
grower or grape -raiser, a year in California is worth more to him 
than three years upon the grain-fields of Illinois or Kansas ; and 
the special practical knowledge which one acquires as an or- 
chardist in California would stand him in little stead as a stock- 
raiser in Colorado. No sort of knowledge is absolutely useless 
anywhere ; but one who is to live in Louisiana cannot profitably 
spend much time in learning the best methods of house-warm- 
ing, although such knowledge would be very useful to him if 
his home were to be in Maine. 

The Emigrant Farmer. — If the farmer, or the person who 
means to be a farmer, has it in mind to emigrate, he needs to 
give to the matter of choosing his new home a more careful 
consideration than is required for any other person. The la- 
borer, the mechanic, the manufacturing operative, or the pro- 
fessional man moves from place to place with few impedimenta. 
They can with little inconvenience change from one place to 
another. When one railroad is completed, the laborer who has 
been employed upon it can betake himself to another, without 
the necessity of leaving anything behind him or taking anything 
with him. If Chicago is burned down, masons and carpenters 
from New York and St. Louis can be there to rebuild it before 
the smoke has ceased to rise from the ruins. If the lawyer or 
the physician finds his profession overcrowded in Boston or Phil- 
adelphia, he can set off at short notice for any other town where 
there seems to be an opening for him. If a new mining region 
is discovered in the remotest corner of Nevada or Utah, engi- 
neers and assayists can hie thither as fast as the modes of con- 
veyance will permit. None of these are of necessity bound by 
pecuniary ties to the place which they leave or to that to which 
they go. 

Quite otherwise is it with the farmer. From the moment he 
owns a farm he is adscriptus glebce — one bound to the soil, 
hardly less so because the bond is of his own making. He has 
struck his roots into the earth of his home. The soil is one of 
the tools with which he works, and he cannot, like the mechanic, 
carry his tools with him. The farmer who has once fixed him- 



REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 155 

self should look well to the matter on all sides before deciding 
upon making a change at all ; and if he has decided upon doing 
so, then he should examine, by all the lights available, the ad- 
vantages and disadvantages which other localities promise, not 
merely for emigrants in general, but for himself in particular. 
And he must make up his mind beforehand that, wherever he 
goes, he will surely find some disadvantages for which he was 
not prepared. 

The general object of the emigrant is to better his condition 
in one important respect or another. It may be that health, of 
himself or his family, is the immediate consideration. Some 
regions are so unhealthy that no wise person, except under the 
urgency of the strongest inducements, will ever think of mak- 
ing a home there. These pestilential districts are few in num- 
ber and limited in extent in the United States. But there is a 
very considerable difference in the degree of healthfulness be- 
tween sections none of which can be properly designated as 
insalubrious. Moreover, a climate perfectly salubrious for a 
person of one constitution is often dangerous to one of another 
constitution or habit of body. If a person is constitutionally 
predisposed to any particular type of disease, he should avoid 
the sections in which that type is prevalent. The Census Re- 
port for 1880 affords data for the solution of this problem better 
than have been hitherto accessible. This topic is considered in 
a subsequent chapter. 

The farmer, in choosing the location of his home, is also 
choosing one for his children, perhaps for his children's chil- 
dren. For their future good it may be his duty to remove to 
a new country, and, for a time at least, to forego for himself 
many of the comforts and conveniences within his reach where 
he is. But, important as the mere question of dollars and cents 
is admitted to be, it is not the only thing to be taken into the 
account. Few men, accustomed to the amenities of civilized 
society and the advantages of education, can live happily in a 
region where barbarism and ignorance form the rule. In such 
case he must either shut himself up from society, or must as- 
sociate with those whose companionship is worse, perhaps, than 



156 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



none at all. The statistics as to education and the like, in the 
chapter devoted to those topics, are eminently worthy of con- 
sideration. 

But, supposing all these points settled, then comes the final 
consideration of making or earning money. " Where can /, 
with such qualifications as I possess, and with such means as 
I can command, most profitably take up my residence?" To 
begin with : a region comparatively sterile is not the one to 
which a farmer should go. Perhaps he may be located in such, 
a region, and the certain disadvantages of removal may, in his 
case, outweigh the probable advantages of removal. If so, let 
him remain where he is, and try to improve his condition there. 
His New England fields may be naturally unfertile, compared 
with those of Kansas or California; but, by judicious culture be- 
stowed upon the crops best suited to his soil and climate, not 
a little of this difference will practically disappear. His acre 
will yield only half as much wheat as an acre in Iowa; but 
upon it he can, perhaps, raise fruits or vegetables, the sale of 
which will enable him to buy the wheat grown upon two acres 
of the most fertile prairie land. In such case he can make 
more money by staying than by going. 

But the possible, or even certain, crop which can be raised, 
although of the highest importance, is not the only important 
thing. The farmer and his family require many things which 
he cannot raise upon his own acres. He must either buy these 
things or go without them ; and he cannot buy unless he have 
something which he can sell. No matter how many oranges or 
grapes his orchard or vineyard may produce, all of them, except 
the few which he and his family can consume, are practically 
worthless to him unless he have a market for them. It is not 
enough that there be a market somewhere, but there must be 
one which he can reach. The forecasting farmer will consider 
the question of the transportation of his crops no less than the 
raising of them. He will ask, " Is there, or will there soon be, 
a railroad or easy water- communication between me and the 
market ?" If there is none now or certain to be in the near 
future, the fact will be a weighty objection. Our systems of 



REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 157 



natural and artificial intercommunication so interlace and over- 
lap that there is no fertile section of any considerable extent 
which will not in time come to be penetrated by railways; and 
a person who can afford to wait long enough for results, or who 
wishes to lay the foundation of a fortune for his heirs, cannot, 
perhaps, in the end make more money than by purchasing large 
tracts of land now cheap, but which in time, when open to easy 
communication, will be greatly enhanced in value. But for the 
far greater number whose views do not reach so far ahead — 
those who wish to eat the fruit of the tree which they have 
planted — a location now within easy reach of market, or soon 
to be so, is every way the most profitable. 

The emigrant from an older to a new country must make 
up his mind to make considerable changes in his mode of life. 
These changes need not now be as marked as they formerly 
were when emigrants mostly went out singly or in very small 
companies. The " colony system " has probably been more 
fairly tested in California than elsewhere. Usually a colony is 
a land speculation of a somewhat enlightened kind. A land- 
holder lays out a tract of land in twenty- acre lots, marks out 
streets and roads, and offers the land for sale to whoever will 
buy, with a water- right annexed by deed to every twenty acres. 
He appoints a resident manager to advise the new settlers as 
to planting and culture, etc., but the main object is to sell the 
land. " Even under this crude system," says Nordhoff, " pros- 
perous and happy homes have grown up with surprising rapid- 
ity." But he adds : 

" The best and pleasantest way would be for four, six, or eight families to 
unite together, with the design to live on adjoining farms. Such an association 
could send out one of their number as a pioneer to seek a suitable location. 
For four families a ' section' (that is, a square mile, or 640 acres) of land would 
be sufficient. It would give to each 160 acres of land. But if more is required, 
and if, for instance, it was desired to settle upon the Government or railroad 
land in .the Sacramento or San Joaquin Valley, these lands are held in alternate 
sections ; and so complete is the railroad land-office in San Francisco, that a 
stranger would do best to go to that office, look over its maps and descriptions 
of railroad sections — which can be purchased on five years' credit, with one-fifth 
part paid down — and there, surveying the whole field at once, make up his mind 



158 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



what parts of it are worth a more particular examination. Having thus deter- 
mined generally upon the part of the State which he thinks it best to examine, 
he will find it easy to make choice of some particular section or sections." 

There are very evident advantages in organizing into com- 
panies much larger than of four families. If, instead of four, 
there were eight purchasing two or four sections, they would 
at the very outset form a community large enough to do, at a 
small cost to each, many things which would be very desirable 
to have done in the very beginning. A common system of 
draining and irrigation might be established, a school -house 
and church built at some central spot, so that no dwelling need 
be more than half a mile from it. Still better if a central half- 
section were divided into building -lots, each large enough for 
house and garden plot. Most likely every farmer would prefer 
to build his house there, instead of upon his own farm, the re- 
motest corner of his 160 acres not being more than a mile away. 
Such a settlement would be a colony in the ancient sense of the 
word — an organized community transplanted into a new spot; 
a society springing up without passing through the phase of 
semi-barbarism. The family is a number of individuals bound 
together by ties of blood and common feeling. Such a settle- 
ment would be a number of families — bound together by ties 
of interest, indeed, but also by the stronger bond of common 
feelings, aims, and pursuits. 

The original 160 acres for each family is altogether too 
much for a permanency ; but it leaves scope for the natural 
family increase. As sons grow up from boyhood to manhood 
a part of the old home farm will be set off to each. There is 
room for the sixteen families on four square miles to double or 
even to quadruple themselves in a half -score of years. It is 
pretty generally conceded that 160 acres to be cultivated by a 
single farmer is better than any greater number; that 80 acres 
is better than 160; and not a few hold that 40 is better than 80. 
" People," says Nordhoff, " are gradually getting convinced, by 
the experience of others, that 80 acres is, in good localities and 
with water, a little too much, and 40 acres quite enough, for a 
fair start in life." If a man whom nature and his own efforts 



REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 159 



have qualified to become a successful farmer could go to Cali- 
fornia with not less than $1500, he could hardly do better than 
heed the advice (cited by Nordhoff) of one who is himself a suc- 
cessful farmer: 

" He should buy 40 acres, for which, with access to water, he would pay 
from $20 to $40 per acre — paying a quarter down, and the rest after from five 
to seven years. He should have a team of horses, costing from $100 to $150; 
plough, harrow, etc., say $75 ; house, according to his ability, from $100 to 
$500. All the shelter needed for his stock he could build of poles and thatched, 
at a cost of $10. He should put 30 acres in wheat, which in an average year 
would yield him clear money, after all his expenses, $15 per acre, or $450; this 
because he needs cash in hand to pay for land and improvements. The ten 
remaining acres he should plant thus: half an acre in kitchen -garden, which 
will supply his family all the year round ; two acres in vines ; two acres apri- 
cots, plums, peaches, etc. ; five acres in alfalfa, which will support all the cows 
and horses he needs, and a few sheep for mutton besides." 

The farmer supposed in this case does not go out in a col- 
ony, and devotes himself mainly to wheat - raising instead of 
fruits. The writer goes on to say that wherever wheat is largely 
grown in California " there are people at the harvest who go 
about with headers and threshers, and get in the crop at a rea- 
sonable price, so that the small farmer does not need tools for 
this." Another farmer furnishes a full detail of the cost of rais- 
ing his wheat -crop for 1880, and the actual profit upon it, per 
acre. Every item of cost is put down, even to four cents for 
twine and three cents for " bluestone, to prevent smut." The 
cost of the land was $25 per acre, and interest upon this at 10 
per cent, is reckoned among the expenses. The entire cost 
of the crop per acre was as follows : 



Interest upon land $2.50 

Use of water and irrigation. . . 1.50 

Ploughing 1. 13 

Seed (56 lbs. per acre) 67 

Bluestone (to prevent smut) . . 3 

Sowing broadcast 10 

Harrowing (twice) 35 



Heading $1.87 

Threshing 2.56 

Board of threshers 33 

Sacks (at 10 cents) 1.47 

Twine 4 

Hauling 75 

Total per acre $13 30 



The yield was 33 bushels per acre, and the crop was sold 
for 87 cents per bushel, or at the rate of $28.71 per acre; from 



160 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



which deduct the entire cost, $13.30 per acre, and there remains 
a net profit of $15.41 per acre. This farm was located in Tulare 
County, in almost the southern extremity of the State ; and the 
wheat, having to be conveyed a long distance to market, brought 
16 per cent, less than the average price throughout the United 
States. Yet, owing to the large yield (no larger, however, than 
the average yield in England), the value of the crop per acre, 
and on the spot, was considerably more than double of the 
average for the whole United States, while the cost of growing 
and harvesting could have been but little more per acre. Un- 
doubtedly this land was naturally of the best for wheat ; but it 
was no better than that of England has been brought to be by 
skilful cultivation, and no better by nature than that of the best 
parts of the central wheat-raising sections, which do not, as cul- 
tivated, yield more than half as much per acre. 

But the colony system affords so many advantages that it 
would appear advisable whenever it can be applied — not merely 
in California, but in all the newer States where sections of land 
are still to be had. Mr. Nordhoff gives the following sketch, 
which, in all essential features, is as true of Minnesota and 
Nebraska as of California: 

" It is an advantage of the settlement of small farmers in colonies that they 
attract the best quality of labor. In all which I have seen a part of the popu- 
lation consisted of men of small means — sometimes of no means at all — desir- 
ous to build themselves little homes, and who knew by experience that their 
labor and that of their teams would be in constant demand. I have come across 
many cases where an industrious German or Swede (oftener than an American) 
was paying for a twenty-acre farm by the labor of himself and his span of horses, 
his wife and children taking care of a few acres of grapes or trees till they 
should come into bearing ; the vegetable garden, the chickens, the pig, and the 
cow, which fed upon an acre or two of alfalfa, supplying ample food for the 
family. Such men are certain to be comfortable and permanently prosperous 
after a few years." 

The ranks of the farmers are being constantly filled up 
from the agricultural laborers, in the same way as the number 
of master mechanics and manufacturers is recruited from jour- 
neymen and operatives. There is, indeed, far more reason why 
an ambitious and capable laborer should resolve upon becoming 



REQUISITES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 161 



a farmer than an ambitious and skilful mechanic should become 
an employer. The mere laborer can never earn more than 
moderate wages; the skilful artisan always earns much more, 
the amount varying, indeed, very considerably with his skill in 
-his special craft. Hence it is that, while the number of farm- 
owners exceeds that of all others engaged in farming, the num- 
ber of proprietors of manufacturing establishments is much less 
than the number of skilled mechanics, artisans, and operatives. 

Although it is comparatively easy for a man to start himself 
as a farmer, yet a success which involves anything more than a 
mere tolerable subsistence demands more wide, practical knowl- 
edge than is required in almost any other sphere of effort. The 
lawyer, physician, clergyman, teacher, engineer, or scientist 
needs, indeed, a longer and more elaborate preparatory train- 
ing than the farmer does before he can enter upon the exercise 
of his vocation. But it may be fairly questioned whether either 
of them can find profitable scope for so great a number of fac- 
ulties. 



162 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881, 1882. 



HE foregoing chapters show the condition and apparent 



X prospects of the agricultural industry of the United States 
down to the close of the Census year (June 30) 1880. The data 
have been drawn mainly from the Census Reports of 1870 and 
1880. The subsequent admirable Reports of Mr. George B. 
Loring, U. S. Commissioner of Agriculture, enable us to pre- 
sent a similar resume for the years 1881 and 1882. The state- 
ments for these years, though in some respects less favorable, 
are fully as valuable, and upon the whole nearly as encouraging 
as those for the preceding decade. 

The year 1880 marked the close of a period of five years of 
great agricultural prosperity; the year 1881 was one of marked 
depression. This country has never undergone such a general 
failure of crops as to involve any lack of a full supply of food ; 
but the year 1881 would have approached very nearly to this 
had there not been a large surplus left over from the two pre- 
ceding years of plenty. There had previously been years in 
which one or the other of our two great cereal crops had been 
deficient, while the other was good. In 1869 corn was a com- 
parative failure, but the yield of wheat was above the average. In 
1874 there was an average wheat crop, while that of corn was the 
worst ever known until 1881. In 1875 the case was reversed — 
the wheat crop was very much below the average, while that of 
corn was somewhat above it. But in 1881 all the cereals, ex- 
cepting oats, suffered severely, as also did potatoes and cotton. 

The winter of 1880-81 was severe, and the ensuing spring 
was cold and backward. Then came an unusually hot summer, 




AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881, 1882. 163 



marked by droughts of exceptional severity, extending over 
nearly the whole country. The records of the Signal Office at 
Washington present a fair representation of the weather in 
nearly every section of the United States. In May and June, 
1-880, the average mean temperature at Washington was 7 2. 8°, 
and the rainfall was 6.89 inches, well distributed in three rains 
— May 11, May 23, and June 13. In May and June, 1881, the 
average mean temperature was 69.4 , and the rainfall was 7.57 
inches, of which 5.71 inches fell in June. In July, August, and 
September, 1880, the mean temperature was 73.4°, and the rain- 
fall was 9.37 inches. In the same months of 1881 the mean 
temperature was 76.9 , while the rainfall was only 4.93 inches, of 
which 2.19 inches, or nearly half, fell in September. Thus, in 
1 88 1 the difference between the extremes of the mean tempera- 
ture of the five months was 7.5 ; in 1880 it was only .06°. The 
rainfall of those months of 1880 was 16.36 inches, fairly distrib- 
uted throughout the growing season; in 1881 it was 12.50 inches, 
of which 8.90 inches, or 71.2 per cent., fell in June and Septem- 
ber, and only 2.74 inches, or less than 22 per cent., in July and 
August, which were, therefore, months of extreme drought. 

The general result of this unfavorable season, as compared 
with the preceding favorable one, was: in 1881 there were 
123,388,070 acres sown in cereals, and the total yield was 
2,066,029,570 bushels, or 16.6 bushels per acre; while in 1880 
there were 120,926,286 acres, yielding 2,718,193,501 bushels of 
all grains, or 22.2 bushels per acre — a decrease in 1881 of 25.6 
per cent, in the average yield per acre, or of 24 per cent, in 
the total production. The effect of this decrease in produc- 
tion upon prices of all farm productions, including live-stock, 
will be considered hereafter. We will now consider each crop 
separately. 

Corn. — In 1880 there were 62,317,842 acres planted in corn, 
which yielded 1,717,434,543 bushels — an average of 27.6 bush- 
els per acre. In 1881 there were 64,262,025 acres, yielding 
1,194,916,000 bushels, or 18.6 bushels per acre — a decrease in 
188 1 of 522,518,543 bushels, being 27 per cent, in absolute quan- 
tity, or 32 per cent, in the yield per acre. The price of corn 



164 THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 

was increased in a ratio higher than was that of the decrease of 
quantity. In 1880 the average price, as stated by the Commis- 
sioner of Agriculture, was 39.6 cents per bushel ; in 1881 it was 
63.6 cents — an increase of 60 per cent. ; so that the entire value 
of the corn crop of 1881 was put down at $759,482,170, that of 
1880 being $679,714,499 — an increase in 18S1 of $79,767,471, or 
1 1.4 per cent. 

The exportation of corn is so small — being not more than 6 
per cent, of the whole crop — that it has no perceptible influence 
upon the market value ; but an increase of price at home greatly 
reduces the quantity exported. A small proportion of the corn 
is exported in the shape of meal. Reducing this to its equiva- 
lent in bushels of corn, we find that of the crop of 1880, the 
home value being 39.6 cents per bushel, there were exported 
93,648,147 bushels; the value at the place of export being 55.5 
cents per bushel, its export value was $51,972,869. The defi- 
ciency in the crop of 1881 raised the home price to 63.6 cents 
per bushel, and of this crop the export (in 1882) was 29,840,031 
bushels; and the export value being 67.5 cents per bushel, its 
value was $29,840,031. 

Of the corn crop of the United States not more than one- 
fourth is used for human consumption and for seed, the re- 
mainder being used as food for live-stock, especially for swine. 
An increase of price, therefore, acts immediately upon the price 
of animals for slaughter. The diminution in quantity in 1881, 
and the increase in price, raised the average price of swine sold 
for packing by more than 31 per cent. It also increased the 
price of beeves, but not in as great a ratio, since they are the 
growth of three or four years — not of a single season- — and are 
the product of grass rather than of corn. This point will be 
farther touched upon when speaking of live-stock. (Perhaps we 
may get estimates for 1883 in time to append them.) 

The corn crop of 1882, though much better than that of- 
1 88 1, was still considerably below that of 1880. According to 
the careful estimate of the Commissioner of Agriculture it 
amounted to 1,624,917,800 bushels, against 1,717,434,543 bush- 
els in 1880, and 1,194,916,000 in 18S1. The average yield per 



AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881, 1882. 165 



acre in 1882 was about 25.5 bushels per acre, against 27.6 bush- 
els in 1880, and 18,6 bushels in 1881. 

Wheat. — The wheat crop of 1881 was very deficient, when 
compared with that of 1880, although not to as great an extent 
as -that of corn. In 1880 there were 498,549,868 bushels grown 
upon 37,986,717 acres — an average of 13.1 bushels per acre. In 
1 88 1 there were 380,280,090 bushels grown upon 37,709,020 
acres — an average of 10.1 bushels per acre, being the lowest 
yield ever reported for the whole country. The decrease in 
1880 was 118,269,778 bushels, or 22 per cent. The average 
price in 1880 was 95 cents per bushel, the total value of the 
crop being $474,201,850; the average price in 1881 was $1.19 
per bushel, the total value of the crop being $453,790,427 — a 
decrease in 1881 of $20,411,423, or 4.3 per cent. 

For several years from three to four tenths of the wheat 
crop of the United States has been exported to Europe, and this 
large foreign demand very much influences home prices. Of 
the crop of 1880 there were exported 186,331,514 bushels (in- 
cluding flour, reduced to its equivalent in grain), the export value 
being $212,745,742, or $1.14 per bushel, and the farm value 
at home 95 cents. Of the crop of 1881 there were exported 
121,892,389 bushels, the export value being $149,304,773, or 
$1.22 per bushel, the farm value at home being $1.19. 

The wheat crop of 1882 was a fair one, the yield being about 
12 bushels per acre — about midway between the unusually good 
yield (13.8 bushels) in 1879 and the unusually bad one (10.1 
bushels) in 1881 ; the average of the ten preceding years being 
12.2 bushels. There was an increase in the area of cultivation, 
especially in the Southern States, amounting in all to about 
4,000,000 acres, the entire yield of the year being 'about 
503,000,000 bushels — an increase in 1882 over 1881 of 32 per 
cent, and a very slight increase over 1880. That the yield of 
wheat per acre is far less than it should be is undeniable. The 
Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture embodies some val- 
uable suggestions upon this point, which will be presented in a 
separate chapter. 

Oats. — This is the only one of our grain crops which was 

10 



166 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



not seriously impaired by the unfavorable season of 1881. In 
1880 there were grown 417,885,380 bushels upon 16,187,977 
acres, the average yield being 25.8 bushels per acre. The value 
of the crop was $150,243,565, at 36 cents per bushel. In 1881 
there were grown 416,481,000 bushels upon 16,831,600 acres, the 
average yield being 24.7 bushels per acre. The value of the 
crop was $193,198,970, at 46.4 cents per bushel — an increase 
over 1880 of 28.7 per cent. This great increase in the price of 
oats was owing to the deficiency of the corn crop, these two 
grains being used interchangeably for the feeding of certain 
species of live-stock. The oat crop of 1882 was a remarkably 
good one ; the acreage was considerably increased, and the total 
yield was 475,655,700 bushels — an increase over the preceding 
year of 14 per cent. 

Barley. — Of this there were grown, in 1880, 45,165,346 
bushels upon 1,843,329 acres, the average yield being 25.5 
bushels per acre. The value of the crop was $30,090,742, at 
66.6 cents per bushel. In 1881 there were grown 41,161,330 
bushels upon 1,967,510 acres, the average yield being 20.9 
bushels an acre. The value of the crop was $33,862,513, at 
82.3 cents per bushel — an increase in 1881 of 12 per cent. Bar- 
ley is the only grain which is imported into the United States. 
The annual consumption for the last ten years has averaged 
42,000,000 bushels, of which 6,000,000 bushels per year has been 
imported. The value per acre of the barley crop is greater than 
that of any other grain. The average value per acre for the 
last ten years has been: barley, $16.14; wheat, $12.82; corn, 
$11.20; rye, $10.03; oats, $9.98. The crop of 1882 was about 
45,000,000 bushels — several millions of bushels less than the 
consumption, the deficiency being supplied from Canada. There 
seems no good reason why the cultivation of this grain should 
not be very considerably extended. Barley and rye form the 
principal bread-stuff of the peasantry of Northern and Central 
Europe, with whom wheaten bread is almost unknown. It is 
not probable that barley will, to any great extent, take the 
place with us of wheat as a bread-stuff ; but, apart from the 
increasing demand for brewing, it is worth trying how far it may 



AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881, 1882. 



167 



profitably take the place of oats and corn for fattening live- 
stock. Its average yield in bushels per acre is less than that of 
oats, but the weight per bushel is greater. 

Rye. — The actual cultivation of rye is much larger than ap- 
pears in the statistics of the Census. In the South it is largely 
grown as green fodder for cattle, little more being allowed to 
ripen than is required for seed. Elsewhere the grain is used 
mainly for distilling. The average yield per acre is more than 
that of wheat, but the value per acre is less, the average for ten 
years being $10.03. ^ n 1S80 there were grown 24,540,829 bush- 
els, upon 1,767,619 acres, or 13.9 bushels per acre, the value 
being $18,564,560, at 75.6 cents per bushel. In 1881 there were 
grown 20,704,950 bushels, upon 1,789,100 acres, or 11.6 bushels 
per acre, the value being $19,327,415, at 93.3 cents per bushel, 
an increase in value, in 1881, of nearly 24 per cent. 

Buckwheat ranks lowest among our grain crops. The crop 
of 1880 was the largest ever grown. In that year 14,617,535 
bushels were grown, upon 822,802 acres, or 17.7 bushels per 
acre, the value being $8,682,483, at 59.4 cents per bushel. In 
1 88 1 there were grown 9,486,200 bushels, upon 828,815 a cres, or 
1 1.4 bushels per acre, the value being $8,205,705, at 86.5 cents 
per bushel — a decrease in quantity, notwithstanding a slight in- 
crease in acreage, of 72 per cent.; and a slight decrease in total 
value, although the price per bushel advanced 46 per cent. 

Potatoes. — The experience of 1881 furnishes a striking illus- 
tration of some of the peculiarities of this crop. Nothing in 
agriculture is so uncertain as the yield per acre, or the price per 
bushel. In 1875 the yield was 166,875,000 bushels, or 110.5 
bushels per acre; the value was $65,019,000, or 38.9 cents per 
bushel. In 1876 the yield was 124,827,000 bushels, or 67.2 
bushels per acre; the value was $83,861,000, or 67.1 cents per 
bushel. In 1879 the yield was 181,626,000 bushels, or 98.9 
bushels per acre; the value was $79,153,000, or 43.6 cents per 
bushel. In 1880 the yield was 167,659,000 bushels — 91 bushels 
per acre; the value was $81,662,000, or 48.3 cents per bushel. 
In 1 88 1 the yield was only 109,145,000 bushels, but the value 
was $99,291,000, or 90.9 cents per bushel. Thus, while the crop 



168 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



of 1 88 1 was 35 per cent, less than that of 1880, its value was 22 
per cent, greater, the price per bushel being 88 per cent, higher; 
and, moreover, 8,800,000 bushels were imported from Scotland 
and Ireland, at a cost of $4,700,000. That is, potatoes from 
Glasgow or Belfast could be landed at New York for 54 cents a 
bushel, while the home product was costing 91 cents per bushel. 
Of course, the possible supply from these sources was limited. 
But, while the quantity and price of the crop are so uncertain, 
there is a remarkable uniformity in the average value per acre. 
The average for eight years was $46.93, the highest being 
$54.83, in 1875 ; the lowest, $41.14, in 1878. " Small as was the 
crop of 1 88 1," says Mr. Dodge, the statistician of the Agricultu- 
ral Bureau, " the average value per acre was $48.63, which has 
not been exceeded by any season since 1874, illustrating the fact 
that partial failure of a crop does not reduce the total income 
derived from it. But, while this is true as a rule, it does not 
mitigate the hardship of individual losses, which are distributed 
among the careless and unskilful farmers, the enterprising culti- 
vators usually getting good crops and high prices, reaping re- 
wards instead of suffering damage." Quite recently a movement 
has begun which promises to work a great change in the pro- 
duction of potatoes, rendering it quite as much a Southern as a 
Northern crop. Mr. Dodge says : 

"The reduction of the supply in 1881, and the unprecedented high prices 
which followed such a failure, stimulated effort, and the result was an increase of 
acreage of about 7 per cent. This crop is becoming more important than ever 
before in the South, where potatoes have formerly been grown very sparingly in 
gardens only, and used for a few days or weeks in the spring as a vegetable of 
positive rarity. Their use has increased of late, and their shipment North is 
increasing with the development of railroads and the tendency to 'trucking.' 
But it is a lesson that has been well learned, that garden vegetables, roots, and 
the small grains — all products which flourish in higher latitudes — must be grown 
in autumn, in winter, or early spring, before the heats of summer reach their 
greatest elevation. So potatoes are planted on the Gulf coast in December or 
January ; a little farther north, at a somewhat later date, adapting the time of 
ripening to the close of the season's moderate temperature. 

" And there has sprung up a practice which renders it possible to increase 
immensely the consumption at the South of this valuable food-product, which 
cannot endure the heats of summer. This practice should give the Irish potato 




'A FIELD BOUQUET. 
See Note 8. 



AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881, 1882. 171 



a place by the side of the sweet-potato as a winter food for every day's con- 
sumption. It is by late summer planting and early fall growth, ripening before 
frost, that this desirable result can be attained. In high latitudes and eleva- 
tions there has been some difficulty in getting an autumn crop fully matured. 
By making two crops — one in winter and early spring, the other in autumn— it 
is possible to have a continuous supply, and seed -potatoes grown at home, 
instead of being brought from the North, as formerly." 

Hay. — " The grass crop, green and dry," says Mr. Dodge, 
" is worth more than any other in this country. The hay is 
worth far less than the pasturage in intrinsic value. Grass de- 
pastured forms an overwhelming proportion of the growth in 
flesh of all animals, and bears an important part in the fattening 
or furnishing of beeves." The hay crop was the only one which 
in 1 88 1 exceeded in quantity that of 1880. In 1880 there were 
31,925,233 tons, grown upon 25,864,955 acres, or 1.23 tons per 
acre; the value was $371,928,964, at $11.65 per ton; the value 
of the hay per acre being $14.38. In 1881 there were 30,888,700 
acres — an increase of 5,023,745 acres, or 20 per cent.; the yield 
was 35,135,064 tons, or 1.14 tons per acre; the value was 
$415,131,366, at $13.43 per ton — an increase of nearly 12 per 
cent. ; but there was a decrease of 7.5 per cent, in the yield per 
acre, and the value of the product was $13.43 per acre— a de- 
crease from 1880 of nearly 7 per cent. Leaving out of view the 
grass consumed as pasturage, the hay crop stands third in value 
of all in the United States, being exceeded only by corn and 
wheat. Wheat, indeed, exceeds it by less than 7 per cent.; the 
average value of the wheat crop for the eleven years ending in 
1 88 1 being $359,000,000, and that of hay $335,000,000. The 
value of the cotton crop of 1881 was $259,000,000; that of hay, 
$415,000,000; the value of the hay was $156,000,000, or 37 per 
cent, greater than that of the cotton. 

There is every reason to anticipate a very large increase in 
the production of hay in most sections of the country. This is 
prefigured by the increase of acreage in 1881 of 10 per cent. 
The suggestions of the Agricultural Statistician in regard to 
the " Winter Feeding of Farm Animals," which we reproduce 
greatly abridged, are worthy of the utmost consideration: 



172 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



" It has long been a question with thoughtful observers, whether the manu- 
rial remainder of hay, straw, and corn-stover fed during the winter may not be 
the only profitable result of the winter's feeding. This material represents 
some hundreds of millions of dollars in value, and it is saved with much labor 
and expense, and 'fed out' daily for some five months in the year in middle 
latitudes. Comparatively little of it does more than keep up animal heat, act- 
ing as fuel in the animal furnace, but not as a flesh-former. 

" To ascertain the results of prevailing practice, and learn whether this loss 
is a necessity or a blunder, an inquiry was instituted as to the average increase 
in the weight of stock two years old and upwards during the season of winter 
feeding. The returns show clearly and conclusively that — 

"i. A considerable percentage of stock fed actually lose in flesh and in 
weight. 2. Another large fraction maintain their weight, and add to bone and 
size of frame, but decrease in flesh. 3. A small proportion make increase of 
weight — 5, 10, 20, or 30 per cent. — depending upon comfortable shelter, and 
amount and variety of feed. 

" The difference between a loss of 5 or 6 per cent, and a gain of equal pro- 
portion, say 100 pounds in the northern belt, in which winter feeding is a 
general necessity, is equivalent, at the low average rate of $3 per hundred, to 
more than $50,000,000. This amount could easily be made if only a part of 
the difference between average neglect and skilful feeding were obviated." 

In New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, and Delaware a gain is reported, averaging about 
10 per cent; but there the cattle usually have more or less 
grain fed out to them. In Ohio " the verdict is, that cattle 
well protected and properly fed gain in flesh and in weight in 
winter; if unsheltered and fed on coarse hay and straw, they will 
lose." In Indiana "farmers report a gain in cases of good and 
judicious feeding ; yet the majority state, as an existing fact, 
that the cattle lose in weight." In Illinois, " the centre of 
cattle -feeding in the United States, it is evident from the re- 
turns that, with the exception of the herds of professional 
feeders, cattle make little actual gain in weight during four 
months in winter, and that in many instances there is a seri- 
ous loss in condition, which further impairs the capacity for 
gain under the best conditions of summer pasturage." In the 
Southern States, where the cattle are left mainly to take care 
of themselves through the winter, there appears to be a gen- 
eral loss in weight during the winter; a loss which might not 
only be obviated, but turned into gain, by giving them a com- 



AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881, 1882. 173 



paratively small quantity of hay, much as grain is given to them 
in more northern States. And it is here that we are to look 
for a marked increase in the production of hay. The Report 
continues : 

" The gain is very little in Virginia. Some counties report a loss ; others 
say the cattle about ' hold their own ' in winter ; a fair average of the some- 
what indefinite returns scarcely exceeds 5 per cent. The gains and losses about 
balance each other in North Carolina; the cattle have lived through the winter. 
It is not much better in Georgia. Some report a loss in flesh and weight ; oth- 
ers maintain a static quo; while a few assert a small gain. In Texas, cattle 
■ sometimes lose and sometimes gain,' or ' merely live and in some cases 
they are not fortunate enough to live. It is rather a loss than a gain in Arkan- 
sas. ' If well fed they will gain 20 per cent.,' say several reporters; 'but they 
are not well fed, as a rule, and so the actual result is a loss of 20 per cent.'" 
The California returns indicate a loss in winter under the treatment usually 
practised ; at the same time the claim of possible gain is distinctly made ; and 
in Fresno County it is asserted that, with good feeding, the gain is greater in 
winter than in summer. 

"The lesson of this branch of the investigation is, that a large portion of 
the farmers of the United States do not practically realize the physiological 
necessity for continuous growth in the production of meat of juicy, rich, even 
quality; or the economic necessity of making every pound of food yield the 
highest possible fraction of a pound of flesh. To attain this ideal fully is not 
easy, even to the highest skill and ripest experience ; but an approach to it in 
popular practice would save many millions of dollars annually." 

Cotton. — The cotton crop of 1880 was the largest ever 
grown. The yield, upon 15,950,518 acres, was 6,589,329 bales. 
In 1881 there were 16,710,730 acres, an increase in acreage of 
4.7 per cent.; the yield was 5,435,845 bales, a decrease of nearly 
18 per cent. The value was $259,016,315. In 1882 there was 
a slight decrease of acreage. The planting season opened gloom- 
ily, " the temperature in April and May being low, and the mois- 
ture excessive, causing deficient stands, replanting, slow growth, 
and unthrifty appearance. With such conditions the aphis flour- 
ishes, and rust appears." The June report showed the lowest 
condition since 1874. The July report showed decided im- 
provement, which continued increasing until the close of the 
picking, the yield being about 6,636,600 bales, slightly exceed- 
ing that of 1880, and the value being about $305,000,000, prices 
ruling low. 



174 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Prices and Prosperity. — If we had respect only to the 
reported values of the grain crops, the year 1881 would appear 
to have been a prosperous one to the farmer when compared 
with 1880. There was, indeed, a decrease in the amount of 
the crops. The yield of all the grains in 1880 was 2,718,193,501 
bushels, while it was only 2,066,029,570 in 1881, a decrease of 
652,163,931 bushels, or 24 per cent. But the reported values in 
1881 were $1,470,948,200 against $1,361,497,704 in 1880, an in- 
crease in 1 88 1 of $109,450,496. But there was no such actual 
prosperity for the average farmer, because he had comparatively 
little to sell, and in very many cases none at all. If one must 
consume all he raises, it matters nothing to him whether the 
selling price is high or low. Those few who were fortunate 
enough to have any considerable surplus for sale of course 
gained very largely by the advance in prices; but this advan- 
tage inured mainly to the benefit of " operators " in grain, a 
few of whom made immense fortunes by the misfortunes of 
others. As a rule, the farmers were worse off at the close of 
1 88 1 than they were at the beginning. Those classes who 
were purchasers and not producers of bread-stuffs and other 
food suffered still more severely. It cost them much more 
to live, while there was no corresponding increase in their 
earnings. The year 1881 was unquestionably a very bad one 
for the whole country. The encouraging lesson to be learned 
from the review of the experiences of 1880, 1881, and 1882 is, 
that so vast are the agricultural resources of the United States, 
and so slight is the probability of a succession of bad years, 
that a serious deficiency in crops like that of 1881 involves 
no permanent loss — none which one succeeding good year 
will not repair. It indeed may work an ultimate benefit by 
stimulating the farmers to better modes of cultivation. 

Live - stock. — There is an intimate and necessary relation 
between the grain product of the country and the price of 
meat. Upon this point Mr. Dodge says: 

" The course of the prices of beeves for six years past is suggestive. The 
Chicago market, the centre of the trade for domestic consumption and export, 
can furnish a sufficient history of prices. For three years, from 1876 to 1879, 



AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881, 1882. 175 



there was a constant decline, amounting to 20 per cent., for choice beeves. 
Then commenced a rise, which in three years exceeded 40 per cent, the ad- 
vance moving slowly in 1879 and 1880, but much more rapidly during 1881, 
the increase being fully $1 per hundred of live weight during the year. But 
after December, 1881, the advance was extraordinary, if not unprecedented, 
the range for 'choice' being from $5.85 to $6.35 in January, 1882 ; and from 
$8.65 to $8.90 in June, or more than 45 per cent, advance in six months." 

Taking the average between the highest and the lowest 
prices in January of each of the years 1876-82 we find that 
the Chicago prices for choice beeves were: in 1877, $5.28 per 
hundred -weight ; in 1878, $4.70; in 1879, $4.22 ; in 1880, $4.68; 
in 188 1, $5.13; in 1882, $6.20. The changes during the first 
six months of 1882 were as follows: January, $6.10; February, 
$5.88; March, $6.13; April, $6.88; May, $7.40; June, $8.77. 
Mr. Dodge says : 

"There are several causes of this great advance, which occasioned some 
surprise among producers, and great consternation among consumers. The 
exportation of extra beeves, which commenced in 1877, and increased year by 
year, both as live and dead meat, is an element, but does not account for the 
spasmodic jumps, in the rates of the later months. Another element of equal 
or superior strength is the great destruction of cattle on the plains, and in the 
parks and valleys of the Rocky Mountains, in the winter of 1880-81, by cold 
and starvation, amid the drifts and severities of the unusual season. While 
this cause tended to stiffen prices in 1881, it is not continuously operative, as 
the winter of 1881-82 was very favorable, and the numbers are now [at the 
close of 1882] increasing rather than diminishing. The third cause, acting in 
conjunction with the two preceding ones, and with a cumulative effect, is the 
failure of the corn crop of 1881, and the high prices of feeding material: all 
together producing an excitement in the market that partook of the nature 
of a panic." 

This " panic " was doubtless largely caused by speculators, 
who certainly took the utmost advantage of it, as is shown by 
the decline which set in after June, 1881. There was, how- 
ever, a marked diminution in the numbers of swine, as is shown 
by the decrease, both in numbers and weight, of those slaugh- 
tered in the great pork -packing establishments. The number 
slaughtered in these establishments in 1880-81 was 16,553,662; 
in 1881-82 it was 14,825,810; a decrease in 1881-82 of 
1,727,852, or 10.5 per cent. The percentage of loss in weight 



176 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



was a trifle less, being about 9.1 per cent. "These figures, 
however," says the Agricultural Statistician, " represent only 
the organized pork -packing of the country. In addition to 
this the farmers of the packing regions, and of the non- packing 
States, East and South, kill for home supply and limited neigh- 
borhood sale about two -thirds as much more in absolute weight, 
and in numbers slaughtered a still larger proportion," since, as 
a rule, the best animals are sold to the packing establishments. 
The entire ratio of diminution was very nearly uniform ; for 
the Census Report puts the number of swine, June 30, 1880, 
as 47,681,700, and the Agricultural Statistician estimates the 
number in January, 1882, at 44,122,200, a decrease of 3,559,500, 
or 7.4 per cent. 

Between June, 1880, and January, 1882, there was a scarcely 
perceptible increase in the number of horses, mules, and milch 
cows ; but there was a considerable increase in the number 
of sheep, there being 45,016,224 in 1882, against 42,192,074 in 
1880, an increase in 1882 of 2,824,150, or 6.7 per cent., the ratio 
of increase being less than that of the increase of population. 
But there has been a very marked increase in the values of live- 
stock. The value of all kinds, in 1880, according to the Cen- 
sus Report, was $1,500,464,609; in 1882, as estimated by the 
Agricultural Statistician, it was $1,906,467,975; an increase of 
$406,003,366, or 27.3 per cent, in two and a half years. The in- 
crease in the values was greatest in cattle and swine. Of the 
causes of this increase in cattle, Mr. Dodge says : 

" Prior to 1877 the exports of stock were small, and comparatively uniform. 
In October of that year commenced the export of beeves of the Short-horn and 
other grades from Northern seaports. The cattle hitherto shipped were sent 
from Texas and Florida, and went mostly to the West Indies. These cattle 
averaged from $16 to $17 per head, and the value of the aggregated cattle ex- 
ported never went much above $20 until the era of fat beeves commenced. 
The table of averages discloses the fact that the shipments for three months 
of Western cattle brought the average for 1877 up to $31.86; the next year 
the average was $48.69 ; and as the proportion of Short-horn blood increased, 
the average was advanced, and it stood at $77.03 in 188 1. While the Long- 
horns of Texas averaged $16.84 m that year, Northern beeves exported from 
Boston averaged $99.68, or one Short-horn equal to six Texans." 



AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY FOR 1881, 1882. 177 



The increase of values is therefore a substantial one, arising 
to a great extent from increase of quality; and may be looked 
upon as permanent, especially in the case of beeves. It shows 
that much has been done since 1880 in the way of improving 
the breeds, and confirms the conclusions which we have already 
drawn from the Census of 1880, to the effect that cattle-breeding 
is one of the most promising branches of agricultural industry. 
In answer to the question, " What of the future of the prices of 
the products of the meat-producing industry ?" the Agricultural 
Statistician, in his report for 1882, replies: 

" There has already been a decline since the commencement of the im- 
provement of the corn prospects of 1882. While prices cannot continue to in- 
crease, and cannot be permanently maintained under full harvests, it is prob- 
able that the low rates of a few years ago will not soon prevail, if ever. The 
general tendency throughout the world is towards a high rate for meat, com- 
pared with other animal products, and with grain." 

Agricultural and other Exports. — For the last ten years, 
at least, fully three-fourths of the exports from the United States 
have been the direct products of agriculture — mining and man- 
ufactures furnishing less than one-fourth. In 1874 the percent- 
age of agricultural exports was 74 per cent. ; it was 76 per cent, 
in 1874; 74 per cent, in 1875; 79 per cent, in 1876; 76 per cent, 
in 1877; 82 per cent, in 1878; 84 per cent, in 1879; 89.5 per 
cent, in 1880; 89.2 per cent, in 1881. The following are the 
specific values in 1879, 1880, and 1881 : 



TABLE XL— AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER EXPORTS. 



Pkouuots. 


1879. 


lsso. 


1881. 




Dollars. 
146,640,238 
210,391,096 
173,158,200 
20,122,967 
53,843,026 


Dollars. 

161,133,376 
288,050,201 
221,517,323 
21,143,142 
46,018,575 


Dollars. 
186,258,691 
270,342,591 
261,267,138 
23,915,724 
46,407,608 


Total agricultural exports 


604,155,522 


737,862,617 


788,191,752 




717,093,777 


823,946,353 


883,925,947 


Per cent, of agricultural exports 


84 


89.5 + 


89.2- 



178 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEAT -GROWING. 

I^HE average yield of wheat throughout the United States 



X for the eleven years 187 1 — 81 has been only 12.2 bushels 
per acre, never rising to 14 bushels in any year; and the aver- 
age value of the crop being only $12.82 per acre, the highest 
being in 1877, when it was $15.27, the price being good ($1.08 
per bushel), and the yield also above the average. This small 
average yield, when compared with that of some other countries, 
and with that of a few sections of our own, is sufficient proof 
that our wheat-growing is very defectively carried on. 

The Report of the Agricultural Statistician, embodied in 
that of the Commissioner of Agriculture for 1881-82, con- 
tains suggestions upon some points which are worthy of the 
most careful consideration. We give the substance of these, 
preserving, as far as possible, the language of the author, but 
with much abridgment and condensation : 

Wheat is sown either broadcast or in drills. On the Pacific 
Coast the drill has only a limited use. In the twenty-four States 
which produce nearly all the wheat grown east of the Rocky 
Mountains about 57 per cent. (14,000,000 acres) are seeded with 
the drill, and 43 per cent. (10,000,000 acres) are sown broadcast, 
mainly by hand. Of nearly 700 counties from which reports 
were received, says Mr. Dodge, " five out of six favored the use 
of the drill ; and, as a rule, those who preferred broadcasting 
gave no reasons for it, simply acquiescing in the prevailing cus- 
tom of the region." He thus summarizes the essential argu- 
ments for drilling, as set forth by those correspondents who 
favored it: 




IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEAT - GROWING. 



179 



" It is claimed for the drill : i. That it tends to clear the surface of obstruc- 
tions and irregularities, turns the weeds and the refuse of the preceding harvest 
under, and makes a suitable preparation of the soil. 2. It enables the grower 
to. place fertilizers in close proximity to the seed, thus stimulating a vigorous, 
early growth, till the roots reach out for nutriment to sustain the processes of 
the later development, tillering and perfecting the grain. 3. Less seed is re- 
quired, saving half a bushel per acre, which would amount to nearly 20,000,000 
bushels were the entire area of wheat drilled. 4. The grain is put in more 
evenly ; its depth is regulated to reach a requisite degree of moisture, promo- 
tive of prompt germination, and to secure ample growth and firm footing of 
the roots, and better winter protection. 5. The plant starts more uniformly, 
makes a more even growth and regular stand. In a drought, if deeply planted, 
it comes up more quickly than the surface-planting, which requires rain before 
germination, and stands better in after-growth during a dry season. 6. Drilled 
land is better drained in winter ; the disintegration of the furrow-sides furnishes 
food and protection to the plants ; the depression catches and holds the winter 
snows ; while the ridge protects against the wintry winds. 8. Drilled wheat 
usually yields more to the acre." 

The last is the essential matter, involving substantially all 
the rest, and concerning it Mr. Dodge says : " There are few 
exceptions to this statement, occurring only where conditions 
are favorable to the growth of grain sown broadcast. The Cen- 
sus for 1880 shows about 50 per cent, higher rate of production 
in the winter-wheat districts of the Ohio Valley, where the use 
of the drill is general, than in the spring-wheat region, where its 
use is limited." He, however, adds this proviso : " How much 
of this difference is due to the prevalence of drilling may not 
be exactly determined." His own summation of the whole 
matter is as follows : 

" The question of drilling or broadcasting is virtually one of good or bad 
husbandry. Where the soil is in good tilth, high fertility, and free from such 
obstructions as rocks or stumps, the preference expressed is almost invariably 
for drilling. In those districts in which custom follows corn with wheat, the 
corn is cut and stooked early ; the shaded soil is moist, and, after stirring the 
surface and breaking the weeds with the harrow or the cultivator, the seed is 
sown, and usually comes up and produces a fair growth. With preparation so 
hasty and superficial, drilling is impracticable, and broadcasting a necessity. 
So in the weedy wheat-fields of primitive soils, given year after year to wheat- 
growing, the land is cheap and the labor dear, and the surface yearly becomes 
more and more weedy, making drilling inconvenient and expensive. Then 
there are wooded districts, where stumps for some years prevent the use of the 



180 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



drill; and in the Eastern fields rocks are sometimes troublesome while on 
steep mountain slopes, as in the Alleghanies, drilling is inconvenient and little 
practised. The most plausible reason for broadcast sowing is given in some 
flat prairie districts, where surface-water will not drain off, filling the drill-fur- 
rows, freezing and destroying the plants. One correspondent strikes the key- 
note of primitive Western wheat-growing in recommending ' drilling when land 
is clean, and broadcasting when land is foul.' " 

We have elsewhere called attention to the subject of select- 
ing the wheat used for seeding. But there is much more which 
may be done than the mere selection of some " accidental " vari- 
ety and perpetuating it. It has now come to be a recognized 
fact that the "breeds" of wheat may be improved by judicious 
"hybridization" — or, rather, crossing — with just as much cer- 
tainty as the breeds of live-stock can be thus improved. 

During the winter of 1 880-81 a meeting of agriculturists 
was held at the Department of Agriculture, in Washington. 
Before this meeting a paper upon cereals was read by Professor 
A. E. Blount, of the Colorado Agricultural College. He gave 
a detailed account of his experiments with wheat, and his suc- 
cess in improving by selection, and in producing new varieties 
by crossing, illustrating the same by forty samples of wheat 
which he had grown. A portion of this paper appears in the 
Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture. The objects aimed 
at by " hybridization " are to " make the offspring better in qual- 
ity and quantity, both for the farmer and the miller;" and the 
results attained are thus set forth : 

" 1. It improves the plant in various ways. It makes it more vigorous, and 
less liable to the attacks of vegetable parasites ; the straw is stiffer, better 
glazed, and more healthy ; the leaves, as well as the roots, are better feeders ; 
the glumes are more compact and better filled ; the heads longer; and fertiliza- 
tion takes place much more surely and successfully. 

"2. It improves the grain; makes it more plump, heavier, harder, conse- 
quently better suited for milling purposes ; the bran is thinner, more free from 
fluff and cellulose, the two obstacles that interfere so materially with milling ; 
the grain is entirely transformed, being made to contain more or less gluten, 
starch, and other elements that make good flour." 

We give the substance of the remarks of Professor Blount 
respecting some of the species of which he speaks with special 



IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEAT - GROWING. 181 



favor. Wheat is said to have poor milling qualities if the per- 
centage of gluten is small. 

" The Black-bearded Centennial came originally from New South Wales. It 
is an enormous feeder and an enormous yielder, 2 ounces producing last year 
25 pounds 6 ounces — 202 for 1. It has the finest head and kernel of any I 
have ever handled. It took the premium last August, in New York, over two 
or three thousand competitors, for being the heaviest, an average head weighing 
107 grains troy, while the next heaviest weighed 92. But, from the analysis of 
its composition, it cannot be said to be a good milling wheat. 

"The Eldorado is an improvement on the old Egyptian wheat, otherwise 
called Pharaoh's wheat, Seven-headed wheat, Mummy wheat, etc. In Lorimer 
County, Colorado, it has produced 90 bushels per acre. 

" The Judkin is a Pennsylvania wheat, and comes to us as one of the best 
winter varieties. I turned it into a spring wheat three years ago, since which 
time it has proved to be among the best. It produces, in weight, a little more 
grain than straw, and yields more than 320 from 1. Its color is red, and re- 
markably uniform. It has a strong, stiff straw, a little too long, and has good 
milling properties. 

" While the Australian Club exhibits in the analysis poor milling quali- 
ties, it is one of the most prolific and successful varieties for the farmer. It 
produced, last year, 416 from 1, and has straw, color, and grain that can 
hardly be excelled. It came from Australia. It is hard, and has a large 
amber kernel. 

" The White Mountain comes to me from Montana. I have raised it but one 
year. It has a stiff, strong straw, does not rust, and ripens evenly. It yields 
abundantly. I received 101 pounds from 4 ounces' sowing — 404 from 1. The 
analysis shows its milling properties to be good. It is a smooth, white wheat, 
of great value. 

" The Perfection was received from Palestine last year under a variety of 
names. Half an ounce produced 7 pounds of straw and 6 of grain — 192 from 
1. The straw is coarse, strong, and stiff; the grain is large, white, and uniform 
in Qolor. It does not appear to be subject to rust or smut in this climate. Its 
milling properties are fair. On the whole, it is a good wheat for the farmer and 
miller. 

" The Russian came to me from Moscow three years ago. Three years' 
test makes it one of the best wheats I have. It has one failing — shelling too 
easily when cut too ripe. Aside from this fault, it commends itself to every 
farmer, and especially to every miller, as its flour is of the best. It produced 
76 from 1, the first year; 172 from 1, the second year; and 448 from 1, the 
third year. 

" The Rio Grande is the best for milling of all the varieties I have. Like 
the Russian, it shells badly, being clad with but a single glume. Sometimes 
the grain grows without any natural covering at all. I have crossed it upon 



182 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



the Champlain, the effect of which has given every kernel in the offspring its 
proper amount of clothing — two glumes, two palets, and two lodicules. 

" The Touzelle was obtained from France. It is the finest-looking of all the 
French bearded wheats, and improves rapidly by selection and cultivation. It 
produced 56 from 1, the f^rst year; 128 from 1, the second year; 480 from 1, 
the third year. The analysis shows that it is not yet a good milling wheat, 
being destitute of the proper percentage of gluten. 

" The Sonora came from Mexico, below the Gulf of California. Some 
millers do not like it, and some farmers will not raise it. I have raised it for 
three years ; the first year it produced 56 from 1; the second year, 126 from 1 ; 
the third year, 416 from 1. It is a good wheat if cultivated with some care, and 
milled properly. 

" The Improved Fife is an improvement on the Saxon Life, and commends 
itself to every one who has seen and raised it. It has for three years showed 
no failing whatever ; and the analysis shows it to have the best milling proper- 
ties. The first year I raised 56 from 1, on the College grounds; the second 
year, 126 from 1; the third year, 416 from 1. 

"The Lost Nation is an old 'stand-by' in the Eastern States. Seed was 
sent to me three years ago from Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the three 
tests I have given it show it to be an excellent variety* for the farmer, and the 
analysis shows it to be a pretty fair milling wheat. The first year it produced 
76 from 1; the second year, 96 from 1; the third year, 352 from 1. 

" The Clawson, from Pennsylvania, is a winter variety, and almost refuses 
to be transformed into a spring wheat. It has done well, and commends itself 
to the farmer, being very prolific, and free from almost all diseases and ac- 
cidents. It does not ' kill out ' in the winter, but grows well, and is green all 
the time, no matter how cold it is. The straw is strong, well glazed, and never 
fails ; the heads are remarkably long, and always well filled. The first year it 
produced 68 from 1; the second, 136 from 1; the third, 544 from 1." 

Prof. Blount exhibited several specimens of his own hybrids, 
of some of which he says : " They are but two years old, and 
hence have not become ' fixed.' I crossed them in order to 
make the offspring better in quality and quantity, both for 
farmer and miller." Of some of his hybrids he makes par- 
ticular mention : 

" My Number Ten — a cross of the New York Diehl upon the Virginia Golden 
Straw — now three years old, is ' fixed,' and so far claims the attention of all 
who see the grain or straw. Its milling properties, as shown by the analysis, 
speak for themselves. It has a stiff, strong straw, has not rusted at all, and 
the head is one of the finest and largest known ; more than 100 kernels are 
found in a large proportion of them. The wheat came from but one kernel 
planted in 1880; that one kernel produced the first year five good heads con- 



IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEAT - GROWING. 



183 



taining in all 474 kernels; these I planted again in 1881 ; and I have now 
30 pounds or more, which will produce at least 50 or 100 bushels by careful 
sowing and cultivation." 

' Prof. Blount has some timely words of caution in regard to 
experiments in the crossing of wheats : 

" The whole operation is very similar to the breeding of stock. The ex- 
perimenter must thoroughly understand the entire vegetable and physiological 
structure of both wheats before he can make a cross or an improvement upon 
either parent. A success cannot always be made the first trial, or the second. 
The experimenter is compelled sometimes to cross and recross again, in order 
to make a wheat that will suit both farmer and miller. Many wheats are 
splendid in the field, and are of no manner of account in the mill, and vice 
versa." 

He illustrates this in the case of some of his own hybrids, 
of which the chemical analysis is given : 

" Take Blount's hybrid Number Eighteen, for instance. It is a failure, so 
far as being fit for the mill is concerned. Why? Because the percentage of 
gluten (10.74) is very much less than that of its mother, the Improved Fife 
(14.23), and very little better than that of its father, the Australian Club (8.91). 
Had it been the average of both (11.57), or more, there might have been a 
chance of making it a success. One more trial — the third — will settle the 
question whether or not it is worthy to be placed among the standards. How 
far it is a success for the farmer remains yet to be determined. Compare 
Blount's hybrid Niunber Nineteen. The father -wheat, Improved Fife, contains 
14.23 per cent, of gluten; the mother, Oregon Club, has 10.06 per cent.; the 
average (12.14 P er cent.) is just what Number Nineteen contains. Now, both 
these parent wheats are good for both farmer and miller ; and I have reason to 
conclude that this offspring will be better than either parent when it becomes 
'fixed.' It is now only two years old, and will not become 'fixed,' or a stand- 
ard, until next year (1882)." 

It must be borne in mind that all these experiments were 
made in Colorado, where the climate and soil appear to be es- 
pecially adapted to the growth of wheat, the yield in 1881 being 
19.8 bushels per acre, while the average for the entire United 
States was only 10.2 bushels. And, moreover, the cultivation 
in these experiments was most carefully conducted in every re- 
spect. Prof. Blount says : 

" All these remarks and statistics are made with respect to the climate and 
locality of Colorado. They may, or may not, apply to other sections and other 

11 



184 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



States. All these wheats have been improved by selection and crossing, culti- 
vation and irrigation, under different treatment. In this, as well as in different 
soils and climates, they might do better, or they might do worse. I am convinced 
that wheats made on the ground where they are to be raised will do much bet- 
ter in every respect than such as may be imported." 

It is not to be expected that the best seed, of the best varie- 
ties, and with the best of farm cultivation, will produce anything 
approaching the increase of 100, 200, 300, and even more than 
400 for 1, reported as the result of these experiments; but when 
it is borne in mind that more than one-tenth of the wheat crop 
of one season is required as seed for the next — that is, that the 
average yield is less than ten from one — it is evident that im- 
proved varieties of seed would very greatly increase the products 
of our wheat-fields. There is, therefore, no reason to doubt that 
the growth of wheat for the sake of selling it for seed would, in 
the right hands, prove to be a very lucrative branch of agricultu- 
ral industry, just as the breeding of cattle has become. 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARM LABORERS. 185 



CHAPTER XV. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARM LABORERS. 

IT is a distinctive characteristic of American agriculture that 
the majority of the cultivators are the owners of the soil 
which they till. In 1880 there were 4,008,907 farms, of which 
2,984,386, or about three -fourths of all in number, and a much 
greater proportion in area and value, are occupied by the own- 
ers. There are 322,357 farms which are rented for money; and 
702,244, mainly in the South, and occupied by freedmen, who 
cultivate them on shares upon terms varying with the fertility 
of the soil, the conditions as to furnishing animals and farm im- 
plements by the owner, etc. Besides farmers, there are nearly 
as many " agricultural laborers " who work for wages, and many 
others who are regularly engaged in other occupations, but work 
as farm laborers during the harvest and other busy seasons. 

The amount of wages paid to these farm laborers is an im- 
portant element in estimating the profits of the farmers, many 
of whom employ a large number of hands. The wages of farm 
laborers vary widely in different sections, and from many causes. 
It was not until a quite recent date that there were any reliable 
means of ascertaining the statistics in this matter. About fifty 
years ago Mr. H. C. Casey set on foot inquiries the result of 
which was, that the average wages were about $9 per month, 
with board. In 1866 the Agricultural Department undertook 
investigations upon a comprehensive scale, the result of which 
was, that the average wages were found to be $ 15.50 per month, 
with board. So that, if the two sets of data are accepted, there 
had been an increase of 72 per cent, in one generation. The 
average rate of wages, when board was not provided, was $26 



186 



ft 

THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



per month for the whole country, and $28 in the States where 
white labor was almost exclusively employed. 

During the next three years there was a decline to $25.13 
throughout the whole country, although the rates at the South 
were somewhat increased. There have been numerous fluctua- 
tions of varying degrees in different sections during the succeed- 
ing years, which are set forth in elaborate tables by the Agricult- 
ural Statistician in his Report for 1882. 

The year 1879 was the period of lowest depression in agri- 
cultural wages. The results of the great monetary revulsion 
which began late in 1873 had now fully developed themselves. 
The manufacturing industries were greatly depressed, and op- 
eratives thrown out of employment sought work upon farms, 
entering into competition with the regular agricultural laborers, 
and thus greatly reducing the wages paid to them. The opera- 
tives in the Massachusetts factories thrown out of work went 
back to their former homes in the adjacent States, and sought 
employment upon farms. From 1875 to 1879 the wages of 
farm laborers in Maine fell from $25.40 to $18.25; m New 
Hampshire, from $28.57 to $ I 9-75- ^ n a ^ New England there 
was an average fall of 30 per cent.; in the Middle States, of 25, 
and in the Western States, of 14 per cent. In the Southern 
States, where the wages were low — just emerging from the no- 
wages of the slave system — there was comparatively little de- 
cline. After 1879 there was a gradual advance, up to 1882, of 
about $3 per month in all the States east of the Mississippi, al- 
though the rates of 1875 have not been reached; and in the 
new States beyond the Mississippi the average became higher 
than it was in 1875. Table XII. shows the average monthly 
wages, without board, paid in 1875, 1879, and 1882, to farm labor- 
ers regularly employed. Where board is furnished, the wages 
are lower by about one- third — sometimes a little more, some- 
times a little less. 

The influence of manufactures upon the prices of agricult- 
ural labor are strikingly evinced in this Table. Wherever 
other industries flourish they draw off many persons who would 
otherwise engage in agricultural labor ; thus, by diminishing 



RETURNING FROM WORK. 
See Note 9. 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARM LABORERS. 189 
TABLE XII.— WAGES OF AGRICULTURAL LABORERS. 



States. 

Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts . . 
Rhode Island . . . 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania . . . 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North Carolina.. 
South Carolina. . 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 



1SS2. 

$24.75 
25.25 
23.37 
30.66 
27.75 
27.90 
23.63 
24.25 
22.88 
18.20 
16.34 
13.96 
12.86 
12,10 
12.86 
16.64 
13.15 
15.10 
18.20 
20.20 



1S79. 

$18.25 
19.75 
19.00 
25.00 
23.00 
23.29 
20.61 
20.22 
19.92 
17.00 
14.00 
11.00 
11.19 
10.25 
10.73 
13.80 
12.20 
13.31 
16.40 
18.27 



$25.40 
28.57 
29.67 
31.87 
30.00 
28.25 
27.14 
30.71 
25.89 
20.33 
20.02 
14.84 
13.46 
12.84 
14.40 
15.50 
13.60 
16.40 
18.40 
19.50 



Statt 

TATT.S. 


18S2. 


1S79. 


1S75. 




$18.50 


$17.12 


$20.50 


Tennessee 


13.75 


12.73 


15.20 


West Virginia . . 


19.16 


16.98 


20.75 




18.20 


15.17 


18.12 


Ohio 


24.55 


20.72 


24.05 


Michigan 


25.76 


22.88 


28.22 




23.14 


20.20 


24.20 




23.91 


20.61 


25.20 




26.21 


21.07 


25.50 




26.36 


24.55 


26.16 




26.21 


22.09 


24.35 




22.39 


17.59 


19.40 




23.85 


20.67 


23.20 




24.45 


23.04 


24.00 




38.25 


41.00 


44.50 


Oregon 


33.50 


35.45 


38.25 




36.50 


35.00 


38.50 


Utah Territory . . 




28.87 


35.50 


New Mex. Ter. . . 




22.10 


22.75 






28.56 


32.50 







the supply increasing the rate of wages paid upon the farm. 
The rates are higher in Massachusetts than in any other State 
east of the Rocky Mountains. Ohio and Kentucky lie side by 
side, with climate and soil essentially the same ; but Ohio is 
dotted over with cities and large towns having thriving manu- 
facturing industries, and the wages for farm labor are notably 
higher than in Kentucky, where there are few manufactures, 
and also a considerable percentage of negro labor. In the 
Southern States, where more than half of agricultural labor 
is performed by colored persons, the rates are very much lower 
than elsewhere — " because," says Mr. Dodge, " it is less intelli- 
gent and less efficient, and is applied mainly to a single routine 
of cropping ; but it has been gradually and surely improving in 
quality, commanding appreciation, so that it now brings very 
nearly the same price when cotton is 12 cents per pound as 
when it was 30 cents." The agricultural wages in California 
and Oregon are altogether exceptional, the rates being more 
than the average earnings of mechanics and operatives through- 
out the United States. The yearly wages for farm labor, with- 
out board, are as follows : In the Pacific States, $458 ; in the 
Eastern States, $320; in the Western States, $284; in the Mid- 
dle States, $267; in the Southern States, $184. 



190 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



There are also many persons, regularly employed in other 
occupations, who engage in farm labor for a few weeks during 
the harvest, and are paid by the day. The rates of wages for 
this work vary greatly. They are highest in the great wheat- 
growing States, " because of the extraordinary prominence of a 
single crop, which is an absorbing specialty. The harvest in 
the South is a longer season, not so exacting in demands for 
immediate and speedy conclusion, and harvest wages are there- 
fore lower, relatively, than the more transient service in the 
West." The average rates per day, without board, are : In the 
wheat-growing States, about $2.00; in the Eastern and Middle 
States, #1.60; in the Southern States, $1.20; being lower in 
the cotton States (except Texas) than in the others. The ex- 
tremes throughout the United States are, California, $2.30, and 
Alabama, $1.05 per day. 

There is no necessity that the man who commences life as 
an agricultural laborer should remain such all his days, pro- 
vided he has the intelligence sufficient to enable him to become 
a successful farmer, and will for a few years practise the strict- 
est frugality. It has been elsewhere shown that the farmer in 
a new country needs about $1000 to start with to purchase and 
stock a moderate farm. Now, the average yearly wages of a 
farm-hand (exclusive of those in the Southern States) is about 
$332, without board; deducting one-third for board, there re- 
mains $220; and out of this, if he has no one else to provide 
for, he can lay by $120 a year without denying himself any 
absolute necessity. Let the young man begin to do this on 
his twenty -first birthday, depositing his savings in a savings- 
bank, at 4 per cent, interest, to be added annually to the prin- 
cipal. His first deposit, on his twenty-second birthday, will be 
$120. On his twenty- third birthday he will have to his credit 
$124.80, to which the new deposit of $120 being added, he will 
have $244.80. Going on in like manner, he will have on his 
twenty-fourth birthday, $374.59; on his twenty-fifth, $509.75; 
on his twenty-sixth, $649.95; on hi s twenty-seventh, $795.94; 
on his twenty -eighth, $947.77. On his twenty -ninth birthday, 
including the deposit of that day, he will have $1105.68 to his 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARM LABORERS. 



191 



credit. If he makes the deposit more frequently than once a 
year (and, as is the custom of savings-banks, the interest account 
is made up semi - annually), there will be a few dollars more than 
this to his credit. 

Thus, at twenty- nine, the prudent agricultural laborer will 
have in his hands cash capital enough to set up as a farmer. 
Few professional men begin to earn their livelihood at that age. 
The qualities which have enabled him to attain these results 
can hardly have failed to make him a good farmer, and the path 
to success is as open to him as to any other man. He will dur- 
ing this time have had ample time and opportunity to make up 
his mind where he shall locate himself. Now is the time for 
him to marry a woman who is fit to be a farmer s wife ; and, no 
longer a mere agricultural laborer, to begin his new life as a 
farmer, the owner of the soil which he tills. The ranks of suc- 
cessful farmers are, indeed, largely recruited in this manner from 
agricultural laborers. 



192 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE PRECIOUS AND NON- PRECIOUS METALS. 

THE Mineral Products of the United States include the 
Precious Metals, gold and silver ; the Non - precious 
Metals, iron, copper, lead, etc.; Coal, anthracite and bituminous; 
Petroleum, or mineral oil ; and the Stones quarried for building 
purposes. This chapter will treat of the metals. 

The Precious Metals. 

Not less than one -third of the gold and one -half of the 
silver annually produced in the world is now mined in the 
United States. The value produced during the year ending 
May 31, 1880, was $74,490,620, of which $33,379,663 was gold, 
and $41,110,957 silver. The weight of the gold bullion was 
1,614,741 ounces troy, or 55.23 tons avoirdupois; that of the 
silver bullion was 31,797,473 ounces troy, or 1090.17 tons avoir- 
dupois. The weight of the gold was equal to five ordinary 
car-loads; that of the silver to about no car-loads. Of the 
gold, 64 per cent, was from deep mines, and 36 per cent, from 
"placer" or surface mines ; and of the placer gold, 71.5 per cent 
was found in California, 9.7 per cent, in Montana, 7.7 per cent, 
in Oregon, and 7.3 per cent, in Idaho. Of the silver, all was 
from deep mines except about one -fourth of one per cent, 
which was found as an alloy of placer gold, nearly all of it 
being from California. 

In regard to the state of this branch of mining industry 
in 1880, the Census Report says: 

" Although these figures are somewhat less than those reached in three or 
four exceptional years, they represent a yield considerably higher than the 
average annual product. While the Comstock lode, the former great producer 
of the country, has a greatly decreased output, this loss is compensated by a 



THE PRECIOUS AND NON - PRECIOUS METALS. 193 



corresponding increase in other regions, notably in the Leadville district, Col- 
orado. As a whole, the mining industry of the country is in a healthy state, 
and the product of the precious metals in the future promises to show a regular 
and permanent increase." 

Table XIII. shows for each State the quantity and value 
of the gold and silver, and the total value of that produced in 
each State during the year ending May 31, 1880; and also the 
value of the yield in 1882. 




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194 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



All gold was doubtless originally deposited in veins of rocks 
of different kinds, usually quartz, and associated with various 
other pyritous minerals ; sulphate of iron, and copper and lead 
ores being the most common, the gold itself forming a very 
small portion of the metallic contents of the rock. The gold 
often occurs in particles too small to be visible to the naked 
eye, also in grains, scales, and lumps or " nuggets." The largest 
known nugget was found in Australia in 1852. A native, in 
the employment of Dr. Kerr, was strolling through a sheep- 
pasture, when his eye fell upon what appeared to be a yellowish 
lump of stone. A blow with his hatchet brought to light a 
mass of gold. He brought word to his master, who rode to 
the spot. Close together lay three blocks of quartz, which had 
apparently been broken apart. All of them weighed about 150 
pounds, and they contained 100 pounds of pure gold, worth 
more than $20,000. 

In the course of ages the surface of the gold-bearing rock 
was sunk beneath the sea, and again elevated above it, very 
probably over and over again in some quarters of the earth. 
Many portions of the surface were exposed to the same kind of 
diluvial action as that by which tides and waves and currents 
are now wasting away the rocks : pounding and crushing, and 
grinding them into bowlders and pebbles, gravel and sand, 
clay and mud. The various substances, thus more or less dis- 
integrated, were carried along by the currents, and gradually 
deposited, the larger and heavier portions first reaching the 
bottom. If these currents acted upon gold-bearing rocks, the 
particles of the precious metal, being some seven times heavier 
than the rest, were deposited sooner than fragments of quartz 
of similar size. But large pieces of rock and small pieces 
of gold would at first be deposited together. The continued 
agitation by the currents would in the course of time cause 
the heavier metal to sink through the mass of bowlders, peb- 
bles, and sand, until they at last rested upon a bottom of rock 
or clay, impervious to water, and they could sink no farther. 
Below this rock or clay bed no gold is found. 

But very frequently the ancient beds of streams have be- 



THE PRECIOUS AXD NON - PRECIOUS METALS. 



come dried up, or the streams have found new channels ; and 
placer mines are often found in these dried-up beds, at a height 
much above the present level of the surrounding country. 
Placer mining consists in a great part in directing a stream of 
water through or against these ancient river-beds, washing away 
the pebbles, sand, and mud, and collecting the gold by the 
various processes of washing, amalgamating, etc. ; all involving 
considerable outlay for furnishing the necessary water, and for 
other purposes. Practically, placer- mining is now carried on 
by a few large corporations, who have the means for conducting 
extensive and costly operations. 

Nearly two-thirds of the gold, and all but an inconsiderable 
fraction of the silver, of the United States are produced by 
u deep" or "vein" mining. Here, man has to do that which 
Nature has done for him in placer -mining. He has to get the 
gold out of narrower veins diffused through the solid rock, 
which has not been broken up and pulverized by the elements. 

The gold has been deposited in these rocks according to 
laws with only a few of which we have made ourselves ac- 
quainted. Quartz veins are not all auriferous. Even in gold- 
bearing regions there are numerous veins in which no gold has 
been found; and large portions of actual gold-bearing veins 
contain no gold. Sometimes one side of a narrow vein is rich 
in gold, while the other side is destitute of it. The main dis- 
covered law in respect to the distribution of gold in the veins 
is that it is usually found in " chutes " or chimneys, having a 
vertical rather than a horizontal direction. The gold-bearing 
portion of the vein may be only a few feet in size in either 
horizontal direction, and yet may extend hundreds of feet or 
yards downwards. It is not the length of the whole vein which 
determines its value, but the size and depth of these ore-chutes. 
Thus, in the "Eureka" quartz vein, in California, the breadth 
of the vein is only four feet, while the depth of the paying chute 
is about iooo feet — almost one- fifth of a mile — and the main 
shaft has been sunk to a depth of 1250 feet. To reach this 
chimney at different levels, eight " drifts," or tunnels, with an 
aggregate length of nearly two miles, have been excavated 



198 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



through earth and rock. During the nine years, 1865-74, 
when this mine was the most productive, bullion to the amount 
of $4,273,148 was taken from this chute, and $2,054,000 was 
paid in dividends to the stockholders, after defraying all the 
working expenses. It was found, however, that the ore began 
to decrease in richness after the depth of 1000 feet had been 
reached. The accepted theory respecting these chutes is, that 
they were the channels for the exit of the primeval waters and 
vapors superheated to such a temperature that the gold was 
vaporized, and upon partially cooling was deposited in the 
chutes, as soot is deposited in a chimney. 

The processes of deep-mining begin with digging the ore 
and conveying it to the surface. This differs in no essential 
respect from iron -mining or coal- mining. The ore has next 
to be crushed and pulverized by means of powerful machinery. 
The quantity of all the minerals is very small compared with 
that of the worthless vein-stone — the pyritous minerals, usually 
denominated " sulphurets," rarely exceeding 3 per cent. ; and 
even of this the gold forms but a small percentage. An ounce 
of gold to a ton of the rock, or 34 parts in 10,000, is considered 
a large yield. 

The extraction of this minute fraction of gold from the pul- 
verized rock requires elaborate processes, calling for the exercise 
of the highest mechanical and scientific attainments. A School 
of Mining is now as indispensable a part of a great university as 
is a school of law, of medicine, or of theology ; and there is cer- 
tainly no department of professional activity which gives a more 
sure promise of the highest pecuniary success. There is cer- 
tainly room for great advance in this respect, for we are assured 
that not less than one-fifth of the amount of the precious metals 
contained in the crushed ore is lost. The man or men who shall 
devise methods of saving any considerable portion of this enor- 
mous w r aste have in their hands the certainty of great fortunes. 

Silver is far more widely diffused throughout nature than 
gold. It exists in sea-w r ater, and it is estimated that not less 
than 2,000,000 tons of silver are contained in all the oceans of 
the globe — nearly as much as, at the present rate, would be pro- 



THE PRECIOUS AND NON- PRECIOUS METALS. 199 



duced from all mines in nine hundred years ; but it is not prob- 
able that this will ever become available for human use. Half 
of the silver now produced in the world is mined in the United 
States ; and of this half, not less than 40 per cent, is from Colo- 
rado, 30 per cent, from Nevada, 1 1 per cent, from Utah, and 
16 per cent, from Montana, Arizona, and California. That is, 
three States and three Territories of the Union now produce 
49 per cent, of all the silver mined in the world. To this fact, 
beyond doubt, is to be attributed the strenuous efforts made by 
European governments to " demonetize " silver, and thus to de- 
preciate its current value as compared with gold. In just so far 
as we take part in these attempts, in just so far do we diminish 
the value of one of our great natural products. 

As reckoned in the Census Report, the value of " fine gold " 
is about $20.70 per ounce troy, and the average fineness of 
placer gold is 0.876 (that is, 876 parts in 1000). The value of 
fine silver is about $1.30 per ounce; and the value of gold, as 
compared with silver, is about 15.9 to 1. Gold and silver are 
produced in some quantities in twenty-two States and Territo- 
ries of the Union. Taking all of these together, the average 
production per head of the population is $5.80. The extent to 
which gold and silver mining is an important factor in the in- 
dustry of these States can be readily determined: in Alabama, 
Alaska, Maine, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vir- 
ginia, it was less than three cents per head ; in Georgia, New 
Hampshire, North Carolina, and Wyoming, it was between three 
and fifty cents per head; in Washington, $1.81 ; in New Mex- 
ico, $3.69; in Oregon, $6.44; in California, $21.16; in Dakota, 
$24.98; in Utah, $34.97; in Idaho, $59.62; in Arizona, $62.75 ; 
in Colorado, $99.05; in Montana, $120.03; m Nevada, $278.14. 
Or, taking the average of the principal gold and silver mining 
States — Colorado, California, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Dakota, 
Arizona, and Idaho — the production of the precious metals was, 
in 1880, $47.91 per head of the population. These figures indi- 
cate the directions in which gold and silver mining enterprise 
will probably be found to meet with the best success. 

The Report of the Director of the United States Mint for 



200 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



1882 (Table XIII.) furnishes materials for a comparison of the 
product of gold and silver for that year with that of 1880. There 
was a decrease in gold of nearly $900,000, and an increase in 
silver of $5,700,000: an increase in the product of the precious 
metals of about $4,800,000. 

The Non - Precious Metals. 

Iowa produced 384 tons of lead ore, valued at $19,172; 
Idaho, 150,000 copper ingots; Nevada, 734,730 copper ingots; 
and Texas, 5,084 copper ingots, which do not appear in the 
table given below, but are included in the totals. 

The following is from the Census Report of 1880: 



TABLE XIV.— THE NON -PRECIOUS METALS {Regular Establishments). 



States. 


Iron Ore. 


Lead Ore. 


Zinc Ore. 


Copper Ingots. 


Alabama . . . 


Tons. 
184,110 


Dollars. 

189,108 


Tons. 


Dollars. 


Tons. 


Dollars. 


Pounds. 


Dollars. 










3,933 
3,183,750 
720,000 
1,578 










































1 










Connecticut. 
Delaware. . . 
Georgia 


35,018 
2,726 
72,705 


147,799 
6,553 
120,692 
































922 




772 
10,681 


30,200 
460,980 


3,000 
7,248 


39,000 
477,693 














Kentucky . . 
Maine 


33,522 
6,000 
57,940 
62,637 
1,837,712 
386,197 


88,930 
9,000 
118,050 
226,130 
6,034,648 
1,674,875 














102,500 
30,910 


18,040 


Maryland. . . 
Massachu'ts. 
Michigan. . . 
Missouri . . . 






672 


7,200 
















45,830,262 
230,717 
1,212,500 
34,050 


7,979,232 
25,730 


28,315 


1,478,571 


34,344 


599,373 


N. H 














5,993 


New Jersey. 
N. Mex. Ter 


754,872 


2,900,442 






39,381 


451,070 






4,055 




New York. . 
N. Carolina . 
Ohio 


1,239,759 
3,276 
198,835 
6,972 
1,820,561 
89,933 
560 
169,683 
60,371 
41,440 


3,499,132 
5,102 
448,000 
4,669 
4,318,999 
129,951 
2,750 
384,381 
88,595 
73,000 




















1,640,000 


350,000 










Oregon 




















20,459 
3,699 


394,568 
22,145 


214,736 
153,880 
2,647,894 
678 


36,256 


Tennessee . . 
Vermont . . . 

Virginia 

W. Virginia. 
Wisconsin . . 


60 


2,500 


469,495 


11,200 


33,000 


10,448 


24,126 




1,728 


78,525 


4,617 


64,562 


18,087 


1,549 


Totals 


7,064,829 


20,470,756 


53,140 


2,102,948 


123,868 


2,079,737 


56,920,266 


8,886,295 


Irregular Products . . . 


2,686,201 




5,832,192 




2,170,269 




572,139 








Total valu 


es 


23,156,957 




7,935,140 




4,240,006 




9,458,434 









THE PRECIOUS AND NON- PRECIOUS METALS. 201 



Iron, in a separate state, is an almost unknown metal. Its 
affinity for other elements is so strong that what we know as 
iron is virtually a compound of iron and carbon in differing pro- 
portions ; and, besides carbon, there are other elements, such as 
manganese, phosphorus, etc., very minute proportions of which 
greatly affect the quality of the iron. The Census Report deals 
specially with the iron ores mined in 805 "regular establish- 
ments" in twenty-one States, which in 1880 produced 7,064,829 
tons, valued at $20,470,756, averaging $2.90 per ton. In New 
Jersey the average value was $3.84 per ton; in Michigan, which 
produced more than any other State, the value was $3.29 per 
ton; in Pennsylvania, which ranked second in production, $2.49 
per ton ; and in New York, which ranked third in production, 
the value was $2.82 per ton. Besides the products of these 
large establishments, there were returns from numerous "farm- 
ers' mines," producing in all 909,877 tons of iron ore, valued at 
$2,686,201, making the entire product 7,974,706 tons: value, 
$23,156,957. 

There were, in 1880, employed in iron -mining 31,668 per- 
sons (30,080 men and 1588 boys), an increase over 1870 of 1 1 1 
per cent. The increase in tonnage of product was 108 per 
cent; increase of value of product, 55 per cent. The capital 
embarked was increased, from 1870 to 1880, by 247 per cent. 
The value of the products per hand decreased 26.5 per cent., and 
the average amount of yearly wages paid per hand decreased 
33.8 per cent. Or (as it seems should have been done), if the 
values for 1870 had been reduced to a gold standard, there would 
still be a decrease of about 2 1 per cent, in the values produced 
per hand, and a decrease of about 27 per cent, in the wages paid 
per hand. 

These statistics show that, comparing 1880 with 1870, while 
the total value of the products of iron mining was largely in- 
creased, the value per ton was very sensibly decreased. This 
decrease is partly owing to the competition with the mining of 
Europe, especially that of Great Britain, where the price of labor 
is much lower than in the United States; so that, notwithstand- 
ing the heavy duty on iron, very large quantities are imported, 



202 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



and it is only by a large reduction of the rates of wages that 
iron mining is at all profitably carried on at present. The re- 
ports of the iron industry for 1881, 1882, and 1883 evince the 
same tendency. 

While, therefore, the production of iron must always be a 
very important branch of American industry, it appears that, 
taking the home product and the importation together, the sup- 
ply is in excess of the demand, and the business is not at pres- 
ent one in which it is advisable to invest additional capital, ex- 
cept in localities which offer exceptional facilities. 

The greater part of the labor employed in mining is " un- 
skilled" labor, and the wages paid for it rank among the lowest 
of all, while the work is among the most severe, and more than 
half of it is performed by persons of foreign birth. Of the 
234,228 miners, only 107,993, or 46 per cent, were born in the 
United States. 

Certain of the higher departments of mining industry, how- 
ever, present great pecuniary inducements. Mining, engineer- 
ing, metallurgy, and the whole range of sciences taught in our 
schools of mines, rank among the most lucrative of all profes- 
sional avocations ; and, unlike most of the other professions, 
their ranks are not over -crowded. The successful exercise of 
these branches demands special aptitude and earnest study, and 
the remuneration is in proportion. 

Copper is diffused in minute quantities ail over the globe. 
It exists in most soils, in sea-weed, and in the animal body. It 
occurs in ores of various compositions, and also in the form of 
native metal nearly pure. In the United States it is chiefly 
found in the latter form. It is produced as an article of com- 
merce in twenty-one States of the Union; but 80 per cent, of 
all the metallic copper was mined on the shores of Lake Supe- 
rior, in Michigan ; and its value constituted 84 per cent, of that 
of the entire copper product in the United States. The copper 
ore found in Arizona and California results not in the produc- 
tion of copper alone, but in " copper matte," a mixture of copper 
and other metals, which is sent to the East to be refined. 

There were, in 1880, in the United States, 53 "regular cop- 



THE PRECIOUS AND NON- PRECIOUS METALS. 203 



per-mining establishments," employing 6258 hands (5966 men 
and' 292 boys); the product of all of these was 1,007,245 tons 
of ore, yielding 56,920,266 pounds of copper ingots, the value 
of which was $8,886,295. Copper, valued at $572,139, was pro- 
duced outside of the regular establishments, raising the entire 
copper product for 1880 to $9,458,434. Reducing the sum given 
for 1870 to a gold standard, the real increase in the value of the 
copper ore in 1880 was 85 per cent. This increase was owing, 
partly to the increase in quantity produced, and partly to the 
increase in value per ton. In 1870 the value of copper ore 
per ton was (in gold) $5.90; in 1880 it was $8.82, an increase 
in 1880 of more than 49 per cent. Copper ore was the only 
one the value of which per ton was greater in 1880 than it had 
been in 1870. "This increase of value," says the Superintend- 
ent of the Census, " is owing to the increase in the percentage 
of metal contained in the rock of the Lake Superior region, the 
leading mine being exceptionally fortunate in this respect." 

The average yearly wages paid to copper -miners in 1870 
was (in gold) $401; in 1880 it was $514, an increase of 28.2 
per cent. Viewed in any aspect, copper-mining is a very lucra- 
tive and growing industry in the United States. 

Lead. — Lead and zinc are for many purposes grouped to- 
gether in the Census Report ; for, so far as these metals are 
produced directly from the ores, they come from the same 
mines, and are smelted in the same establishments. But near- 
ly 60 per cent, of all the metallic lead " is refined from base 
bullion, the principal value of which was silver," although in 
quantity the lead far exceeded the silver. This lead, of course, 
comes from the silver -producing States. 

Lead-mining, properly so-called, is carried on in seven States; 
Missouri, however, produces 53 per cent, of the whole, and Kan- 
sas 20 per cent. The product of ore was 53,140 tons, yielding 
66,970,838 pounds of lead; value, $2,102,948. From the refin- 
ing of base bullion were produced 95,967,267 pounds of lead; 
value, $5,832,192. The total product of metallic lead was, 
therefore, 162,938,105 pounds; value, $7,935,140. 

Zinc. — Metallic zinc, or " spelter," is mined in nine States ; 

12 



204 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



New Jersey furnishing 31 per cent, Missouri 28 per cent., and 
Pennsylvania 17 per cent, of the whole. The product of ore 
was 123,868 tons, yielding 46,477,999 pounds of metal; value, 
$2,079,737. Besides this, there was "of zinc oxide (produced 
in chemical works from the ore, 20,213,631 pounds), equivalent 
to 16,203,460 pounds of metallic zinc;" value, $2,170,269. The 
total value of all the zinc product was, therefore, $4,240,006. 

Lead and zinc are mined and smelted in 206 " regular es- 
tablishments," employing 7483 hands (7323 men and 160 boys), 
an increase of 336 per cent, since 1870. Reducing the reported 
values for 1870 to a gold standard, the increase in the value of 
products was about 210 per cent. The average yearly wages 
paid to miners in 1870 was (in gold) $280; in 1880 it was $353, 
an increase of 26 per cent. The great increase in the number 
of hands employed, and in the total value of profits, is to be 
explained, at least in respect to lead, by the increase in silver- 
mining, by which ores, otherwise useless, acquired a large value. 
The increase in the wages paid shows that the business is a prof- 
itable one. It must become more remunerative, for the use of 
both of these metals is constantly increasing. 

Minor Minerals. — There are several minor minerals, some 
of which, as nickel, manganese, and tin, are also metals. The 
value of all of these, in 1880, was $3,387,444; of which nearly 
one-half was produced in New York. The two metals, Alu- 
minium and Magnesium, exist abundantly, but they are as yet 
produced in limited quantities, and by expensive processes. 
Their possible value, hereafter, will be considered in a sub- 
sequent chapter. 

In stating the values of all metallic products, the sums 
given include only the values of the mineral when extracted 
from the ground, and with such preparation as is necessary to 
fit it for transportation. When an industry is compound, em- 
bracing both mining and manufacturing — as when a furnace- 
company not only mines the ore, but also reduces it to pig-iron 
— that portion of the value given by the latter part of the proc- 
ess is not here included. The values of the metallic products 
of mines, in 1880, was 5.5 per cent, of the value of agricult- 



THE PRECIOUS AND NON- PRECIOUS METALS. 205 



ural products, and 2.3 per cent, of the value of manufactured 
products, as follows : 

Gold $33,609,663 

Silver 41,170,957 

Iron 23,156,957 

Copper 9,458,434 

Lead 7,935,140 

Zinc 4,240,006 

Minor Metals 3,387,444 

Total $122,958,601 



206 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



COAL, ANTHRACITE AND BITUMINOUS. 



OAL is mined in twenty- five States of the Union. It is 



V^/ divided into two great classes, anthracite and bituminous 
coal. No perfect line of demarkation can, however, be drawn 
between these classes, for they shade into each other by almost 
insensible gradations, according to the greater or less percent- 
age which they contain of volatile matter which has not been 
driven off by the intense heat to which the coal has been at 
some remote time subjected. 

Anthracite Coal. — It is convenient to consider as anthra- 
cite all that coal in which there is not more than 12 per cent, 
of volatile matter. This consists mainly of the Lehigh coal, 
which has from 3 to 10 per cent, of volatile matter, and the 
Scranton coal, which has from 9 to 1 2 per cent. ; while the 
bituminous coal of western Pennsylvania has from 30 to 50 
per cent. Intermediate between these extremes, but generally 
classed with the bituminous coals, are what are sometimes 
called "semi -bituminous coals," having from 17 to 25 per cent, 
of volatile matter. Anthracite coal is essentially the same as 
coke, formed artificially from bituminous coal ; but the heat 
which expelled the greater portion of the bituminous matter 
was applied under a high pressure, so that the residue is more 
dense than that of coke, or even of bituminous coal. 

The mining of anthracite coal is confined mainly to a por- 
tion of Pennsylvania, lying between the folds of the Alleghany 
Mountains, the coal basins having an area of not more than 
500 square miles. In this region were mined, in 1880, more 
than 28,000,000 tons of anthracite; less than 10,000 tons being 




COAL, ANTHRACITE AXD BITUMINOUS. 



209 



mined in Rhode Island and Virginia. The total production of 
anthracite in 1SS0 was 28,649,811 tons — being about 40 per 
cent, of all the coal mined in the United States ; and its value 
was $42,186,678 — being about 47 per cent, of the total value 
of all the coal. 

Bituminous Coal is much more widely diffused than an- 
thracite, and is mined in twenty-four States of the Union. 
Pennsylvania furnishes not only nearly all of the anthracite, 
but also 43.4 per cent, of the bituminous coal of the United 
States. So that in this State was produced 67.7 per cent, of 
all the coal mined in the Union. 

Table XV. shows for each State the quantity and value of 
the coal mined, in 1880, in the United States. Of that mined 
in Pennsylvania 28,649,812 tons were anthracite, and 18,075,548 
tons were bituminous. All the coal of Rhode Island and a 
small part of that of Virginia is anthracite ; all mined in the 
other States is bituminous. The table also shows the value of 
the minor minerals produced in each State. 

TABLE XV.— COAL AND MINOR MINERALS. 



States. 


Coal. 


Alabama . . 
Arkansas . . 
California . 
Colorado . . 
Georgia . . . 
Illinois .... 
Indiana . . . 
Iowa 


Tons. 
3-2-2.934 
14,778 
236,950 
402.747 
154.644 
6.089.514 
1,449,496 
1,442,333 
763,597 
935,857 


Dollars. \ 
475, 559 
33,535 
663,013 
1,041,350 
281,605 
8.739,755 
2,143,093 
2,473,155 
1,498,168 
1,123,046 


Kansas .... 
Kentucky . 


Maryland . 


2.227,844 


3,584,455 


Michigan . . 
Mi.-souri . . 
Montana . . 
Nebraska . . 


100,800 
543,590 
224 
200 


224,066 
1,037,100 
800 
750 










carryover. 


carry over. 



Minor 
Minerals. 



Dollars. 



19,448 

120435 
102,324 
22,291 



2,000 
159,303 
101.970 
41,075 
13,196 



112,550 



carry over. 



States. 



N. J 

New York 

N. C 

Ohio 

Oregon . . 

Penn 

R. I 

S. C 

Tennessee 
Vermont . 
Virginia . . 
Wash .... 
W. Va . . . 
Wvomins: 



Total. .. . 
Irreg. Prod. 

Total Coal. 



Coal. 



Tons. 



Dollars. 



350 400 
5.932.853: 7,629,488 
43,205! 97,810 
46,688,143 60,383,651 
6,176 15,440 



494,491! 628,954 



43,120 100.63 
145,0151 389,046' 
1,792,570, 1,971,847! 
589,595; 1,080,451 



70,481,426 
916,564 



94.567.608 
1,092,305 



1,397,990 95,659,913 



Minor 
Minerals. 



Dollars. 

40,270 
1,623,011 
79,855 



426,102 
'27^ 709 



48,788 
179.125 



100.000 



3,387,444 



Delaware produced minor minerals to the value of $163,310, and West Virginia to the value of S4500, which 
are included in the total. 



The "regular" bituminous coal, 47,880,000 tons, value 
$52,463,000, was produced in 2990 establishments, in twenty- 



210 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



four States; the anthracite, 28,600,000 tons, value $42,196,000, 
in 277 establishments, nearly all of them in Pennsylvania. These 
3267 establishments employed in all 170,864 hands (148,573 men 
and 22,291 boys), producing nearly 77,000,000 tons of coal, 
value about $94,600,000. The small number of establishments, 
compared with the amount and value of the product, furnishes 
better data for attaining precise statistics for coal-mining than 
are accessible in any other branch of industry. 

The increase from 1870 to 1880 in the number of hands 
employed in coal-mining was about 82 per cent. (140.3 in bitu- 
minous and 33.2 per cent, in anthracite mining). The increase 
in the quantity of coal produced was about 105 per cent. (143.4 
in bituminous coal, 82.7 in anthracite). But the increase in 
value was in a much less ratio. The average value of a ton of 
bituminous coal in 1870 was (in gold) $1.63; in 1880 it was 
$1.25 — a decrease of 23.3 per cent. The value per ton of an- 
thracite in 1870 was $1.97; in 1880 $1.47 — a decrease of 25.3 
per cent. The quantity produced per hand also increased very 
considerably. In 1870 the amount per hand, mined and raised 
to the surface, was 413 tons of bituminous coal, or 295 of an- 
thracite; in 1880 it was 418 tons of bituminous coal, or 405 tons 
of anthracite — an average increase of about 16 per cent, per 
hand. This increase was, however, due .mainly to the intro- 
duction of steam - engines, by which much of the work formerly 
done by men was now performed by machinery. Thus, while 
the quantity of coal mined was increased, from 1870 to 1880, 
about 105 per cent., its value was increased less than 30 per 
cent. The introduction of machinery, and other causes, re- 
quired the investment of a much larger amount of capital in 
mining. In 1870 the capital necessary to produce a dollar's 
worth of coal was estimated at $1.33; in 1880, $3.67 — an almost 
threefold increase. 

The bearing of this upon the rates of wages is evident. In 
1870 the value of the coal produced during the year by each 
miner was (in gold) $5.24; in 1880, each, with the aid of costly 
machinery, produced $5.60. In 1870 the miner received $1.05 
per ton; in 1880 he received $0.78.5 per ton. In 1870 the 



COAL, ANTHRACITE AND BITUMINOUS. 



211 



wages, paid to the miner were 59.8 per cent, of the value of the 
coal produced; in 1880 they were 53.9 per cent. In 1870 the 
average yearly wages of a coal -miner were (in gold) $346; in 
1880 they were $321 — a decrease of 7.2 per cent. But this 
diminution in the rate of wages did not enure wholly to the 
profit of the capitalists who owned or operated the mines. In 
1870, the materials used in the business of mining amounted to 
9.4 per cent, of the value of the product ; in 1880 they amounted 
to 15.9 per cent. — an increase of 6.5 per cent. In 1880 the value 
of wages and material together was 69,8 per cent, of the value 
of the product ; in 1870 they were 69.2 per cent, of this value. 
Thus in 1870 there was left 30.8 per cent, of the value of the 
product, over and above wages and the cost of material, for 
other expenses and profits; in 1880 there was 30.2 per cent. 
The percentage of surplus being substantially the same, the 
gross profits of the mining operators was increased in just the 
ratio of the increase in the value of the products — that is, 
about 30 per cent. ; but the capital invested had been increased 
185 per cent; so that the average percentage of profit to the 
operator upon his capital invested was in 1880 only about one- 
third of what it had been in 1870. 

Since 1880 the price of coal and the rate of wages has 
fluctuated ; but the general tendency has been downward. The 
obvious inference is, that — as in the case of iron -mining — the 
production of coal is somewhat in excess of the demand, and 
there is no apparent prospect of any immediate increase of 
prices except in consequence of a decrease of production. 
And the rates of wages, as shown above, are among the lowest 
in any branch of American industry; while the labor is about 
the most severe and unpleasant of all. 



212 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PETROLEUM AND ITS PRODUCTS. 

PETROLEUM ("rock-oil") under various names, such as 
naphtha, coal -oil, and the like, has been known in various 
parts of the world from the remotest antiquity. The petroleum 
springs of Rangoon, in what is now British Burmah, have, it is 
said, yielded for ages more than half a million of barrels a year. 
Its existence was known to the aborigines of this country; the 
peoples who preceded the existing races on this continent dug 
numerous wells in the petroleum region in order to collect the 
oil which flowed into them. Trees which have been found grow- 
ing above these wells show that they could not be less than from 
500 to 1000 years old. Early in the present century small quan- 
tities of the oil were collected and sold as a valuable medicine, 
under the name of " Seneca oil." Meanwhile it was discovered 
in Great Britain that oils (paraffine oils) of a similar character 
could be distilled from certain species of coal and lignite, and 
about 1850 the manufacture of these oils was introduced into 
the United States. In 1854 a company was formed for collect- 
ing the natural petroleum floating on pools and ditches in North- 
western Pennsylvania. In 1858 Mr. Drake, the manager of this 
company, conceived the idea that, by sinking a deep well, oil 
would be "struck." On August 28, 1859, a well had been bored 
down to a depth of 71 feet, when oil gushed to the surface at 
the rate of 400 gallons a day. 

From the sinking of this well dates the beginning of petro. 
leum mining, which has come to be a very prominent industry 
in the United States. Wells were immediately sunk in the 
rough region of North-western Pennsylvania, and the most un- 



PETROLEUM AND ITS PRODUCTS. 



215 



productive farm lands came to be held of the highest value ; for 
a well, which could be sunk for a few hundred dollars, might 
yield, with scarcely any additional mining labor, hundreds of dol- 
lars a day. 

Petroleum has this characteristic, that there is no apparent 
limit to the quantity that may be obtained by a comparatively 
trifling amount of labor. Practically, the value of it is regulated 
wholly by the amount wanted, and not by the quantity produced. 
The history of petroleum mining, therefore, furnishes an in- 
structive lesson upon the relation between the value of a pro- 
duction, its supply in the market, and the demand for it. 

The quantity produced in 1859 was 3,000 barrels, which sold 
at the wells for $13.00 per barrel. In i860 there were 600,000 
barrels, and the price fell to $6.72 per barrel; in 1861 the yield 
was 2,000,000 barrels, at $2.73. In 1862 the yield was 3,000,000 
barrels, sold at pi. 68 ; so that, although the quantity was 50 per 
cent, greater, the value was somewhat less. But a large foreign 
demand had been created, and in 1863 the price rose to $3.99 
per barrel, and, although the quantity produced was 500,000 bar- 
rels less, the value was more than twice that of the previous year. 
The export demand increased so rapidly that it seemed that it 
would be unlimited; and in 1864 the price rose almost at a 
bound to $9.66 per barrel, and, although the product was less 
than it had been three years before, the value was almost quad- 
rupled, exceeding $20,000,000. In 1865 the production rose 
from 2,100,000 to 3,500,000 barrels, and the price fell to $6.57 
per barrel; still, the value of the product was $23,000,000. In 
1866 the production was somewhat increased, but the price fell 
so that the value was $13,500,000. In 1867 the product was 
nearly the same, but it brought only $10,600,000, the price being 
$3.18. In 1868 and 1869 the product and price kept on increas- 
ing, and in 1870 there were 5,659,000 barrels, and, the price 
being $3.80 per barrel, the value was $25,208,550 ($20,166,840 in 
gold), a larger sum than was reached for several years after- 
wards. In 1874 the product reached to nearly 11,000,000 bar- 
rels, but the price fell to $1.18, so that the value was $12,760,000, 
and of this more than one-third was exported. 



216 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



In 1880 the total amount of crude petroleum produced in the 
United States was 24,235,081 barrels, of which 23,915,446 were 
in North-western Pennsylvania, and 89,946 in other parts of the 
State; 219,254 in West Virginia and an adjacent county of 
Ohio; 5059 in other parts of Ohio; and 5376 in Kentucky. 
But for several years the production has been in excess of the 
demand, and large quantities were held over. These accumula- 
tions amounted, in June, 1879, to 7,948,352 barrels, and at the 
close of May 1, 1880, to 13,299,252 barrels. But the production 
was still continued in excess of the sales, so that at the close of 
the year there were 18,640,000 barrels in the hands of the pro- 
ducers. It is, therefore, impossible to form any accurate esti- 
mate of the actual value of the yield of that year. The quantity 
refined was 17,417,455 barrels (of 42 gallons each), and its value 
$16,340,581. 

The cost of bringing the oil to the surface*varies greatly in 
different districts. In the "flowing wells" of the great Bradford 
district, in Pennsylvania, it is only 6 or 8 cents a barrel ; in the 
" pumping wells " of the lower country it is from 60 to 80 cents ; 
and in the pumping wells of the Franklin district (which yield 
only about 7000 barrels of " heavy oil ") the cost was $3 per 
barrel. The total number of wells drilled was 3696, of which 
3086 were in the Bradford district, Pennsylvania; and, besides 
these, there were 137 "dry holes;" the estimated cost of sinking 
these wells being about $9,000,000. The number of hands em- 
ployed, including skilled workmen, was 11,477, °f whom 8784 
were classed as " laborers." The average rate of wages paid in 
Pennsylvania was from $1.50 to $2.00 per day; in West Vir- 
ginia, etc. (where, however, less than 500 hands were employed), 
the wages were from $1.00 to $1.50 per day; the total amount 
of wages in producing crude petroleum being about $7,500,000. 

Nearly all of the crude petroleum yielded by the wells 
passes into the hands of the refiners, and, strictly speaking, 
the oil is not a merchantable product until it has been refined. 
A few of these refining establishments hold nearly all of the 
stock on hand, and so are able to regulate the supply thrown 
upon the market. In 1880 there were 86 of these establish- 



PETROLEUM AND ITS PRODUCTS. 217 

ments (mostly incorporated companies), having an invested cap- 
ital of $27,395,746, the machinery and buildings being valued at 
$5,437,286. They employed 9869 hands, who received, as wages, 
$4,381,572, an average of $444 per year. The products of these 
refineries were : 



TABLE XVI, — PETROLEUM AND ITS PRODUCTS. 



Articles. 


Quantity. 


Value. 




11,002,249 barrels. 
1,212,626 " 
289,555 " 
204,841 " 
7,889,626 pounds. 
70,415 barrels. 
79,465 " 
26,018 " 
229,133 " 
16.544 " 
5,868 " 


$36,839,613 
1,833,395 
1,128,166 
1,024,017 
631,944 
611,572 
408,023 
371,020 
297,529 
202,275 
29,117 
328,097 


Gasoline 


Paraffine oil 












$43,705,218 


The expenses of production were : 


Materials. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Coal, for fuel 

Residuum, naphtha, and other fuel 


17,417,455 barrels. 
684,664 tons. 

45,813 " 

772 " 

1,990 " 
< t 


$16,340,581 
1,027,905 
291,103 
1,206,052 
85,064 
62,815 
20,954 
11,618,607 
2,793,997 
906,911 
645,312 








9,717,306 " 
23,841,089 " 
6,452,801 " 

et 












$34,999,101 
4,381,572 


Total cost of refined petroleum 




$39,380,673 



The value of the refined oil and other petroleum products 
being $43,705,218, there is left $4,324,545 — about 11 per cent. 
— for the apparent profits of refining; but the cost of the raw 
oil consists almost wholly in the labor expended in procuring it. 
The cost of the oil being $16,340,581, and the wages paid to 
the hands collecting it being, as before stated, about $7,500,000, 
there remains about $8,800,000 for profits upon the raw mate- 
rial ; so that the actual profit upon the petroleum, when sold in 



218 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



the market, is not less than $13,000,000. It will be noted that 
the cost of the barrels, cans, and cases, in which the refined 
petroleum is packed, constitutes more than one-third of all the 
expense of the production. 

The petroleum business is, in some respects, among the most 
important of our interests. The amount produced is limited 
only by the quantity demanded ; and new uses for it are con- 
tinually arising, so that the demand will probably increase. 
But, from the nature of the case, the business is, and will be, 
concentrated in few hands — the number being now fewer than 
it was in 1880. Most of the labor employed in the collecting 
and refining of petroleum is unskilled labor, and the wages 
earned by the hands are somewhat higher than those paid to 
other miners. Speculation, based upon the probable sales of 
petroleum, is very prevalent, and the reported values vary great- 
ly from time to time. 



STONE -QUARRYING AND SALT -MAKING. 



219 



CHAPTER XIX. 

STONE -QUARRYING AND SALT -MAKING. 

THE building-stones quarried in the United States belong 
to four classes of stone. Table XVII. shows, for the 
whole United States, the number of quarries of each kind, the 
capital invested, the amount quarried, the value of the product, 
and the number of hands employed : 



TABLE XVII.— STONE-QUARRIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Kinds of Rock. 


Quarries. 


Capital. 


Product. 


Value 
of Product. 


Hands 
Employ'cl. 


Marble and limestone 

Sandstone 

Crystalline silicious rocks . . . 
Slate 


Number. 
616 
502 
313 
94 


Dollars. 
10,565,497 
6,229,600 
5,291,250 
3,328,150 


Cubic feet. 
65,523,965 
24,776,930 
20,506,568 
4,572,670 


Dollars. 
6,856,681 
4,780,391 
5,188,998 
1,529,985 


Number. 

15,646 
9,567 

11,477 
3,033 


Totals 


1525 


25,414,497 


115,330,133 


18,356,055 


39,723 



Of the laborers employed, 38,945 were above and 778 below 
the age of sixteen; 25,726 were employed in quarrying, 9840 in 
dressing the stone, and the remainder in hauling, etc. Table 
XVIII. gives for each State the value of each kind quarried, 
the number of quarries and of the hands employed in them, and 
the value of all the products. 

It will be seen, by comparing this Table with other sta- 
tistics, that in some of the States the quarrying of building- 
stones and dressing them for market forms an important branch 
of industry and a leading source of wealth. The value of the 
marble and slate from the 61 quarries in Vermont was more 
than one -third as much as that of all the grain crops raised 
upon her 35,000 farms. The granite from the 113 quarries of 



220 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



TABLE XVIII.— QUARRY PRODUCTS, BY STATES. 



States. 



California 

Colorado . . 

Connecticut 

Dakota 

Delaware 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts. . 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

New Hampshire 
New Jersey. . . . 

New York 

Ohio 

Pennsylvania . . 
Rhode Island . . 

Tennessee 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Wash. Ter 

West Virginia . . 
Wisconsin 



Marble. 



Dollars. 



431,439 
669,723 
240,934 

192,695 
1,340,050 
27,750 



189,320 



Sandstone. 



Dollars. 

9,666 

680,200 
12,000 



1,320,742 
593,375 
666,554 
131,570 
92,216 


21,830 
40,400 
4,200 
11,000 


65,929 




230,495 


144,294 


26,085 


59,080 


201,593 


41,150 


421,211 


81,960 


15,000 





400,420 
724,556 
1,871,924 
627,943 



2,000 
16,689 
37,745 



Totals 6,856,681 4,780,391 5,188,998 1,529,985 1,525 



Crystalline. 



Dollars. 
172,450 
41,400 
407,225 



12,600 
64,480 



1,175,286 
224,000 
1,329.315 



13,075 
110,000 

303,066 
99,000 
10,000 



211,454 
623,000 



59,675 
331,928 
1,044 



Slate. 



Dollars. 



4,500 



83,800 
56,700 
7,000 



15,000 
95,500 



863,877 



352,608 
51,000 



Quarries 


Hands. 


Products. 


Number. 


Number. 


Dollars. 


2 


195 


172,450 


6 


134 


50,400 


38 


1,902 


1,087,425 


1 


35 


12,000 


3 


30 


12,600 


3 


146 


68,980 


43 


2,315 


1,342,572 


70 


1,788 


633,775 


131 


2,091 


670,754 


19 


434 


142,570 


19 


806 


92,216 


74 


4,011 


1,259,086 


17 


701 


346,629 


113 


2,951 


1,711,104 


9 


200 


79,165 


41 


1,175 


255,818 


34 


783 


613,171 


1 


55 


15,000 


QQ 

OV 




OUo,UDD 


25 


812 


514,420 


251 


3,302 


1,261,495 


245 


4,902 


2,541,647 


164 


4,284 


1,944,208 


17 


962 


623,000 


13 


443 


192,695 


61 


2,762 


1,752,383 


14 


919 


410,678 


2 


16 


3,044 


10 


154 


16,689 


60 


820 


227.065 


1,525 


39,723 


18,356,055 



Massachusetts was worth almost as much as all her corn and 
oats and rye ; that of the 74 quarries of Maine more than any 
one of her grain crops, and two- thirds as much as her potatoes. 
There are few acres of land worth as much as the same area 
of a good quarry of building- stone, so situated as to be accessi- 
ble to any great market. Stone and brick must become more 
and more the building material of the country, as the rapid 
diminution of the forests renders timber more and more costly. 
In none of our cities and larger towns is wood even now used 
to any great extent in building, except for interiors. 

Salt is strictly a mineral product, and in some parts of the 
world is a product of the quarry. But almost the entire amount 
produced in the United States is made by evaporating the brine 
of subterranean springs by means of artificial heat. There are 
276 salt-works in sixteen of the States, having a capital of 



STONE -QUARRYING AND SALT -MAKING. 



221 



$8,550,000; and producing, in 1880, 30,850,000 bushels, nearly 
three -fourths of which was made in Michigan and New York, 
There were employed 4473 hands, who received, as wages, 
$1,305,000, an average of $292 per year, The value of all the 
materials used was $2,350,000 — wood and coal for fuel making 
nearly half the amount. The value of the salt produced was 
$5,180,000. 

Summary of Mining Values. 

Table XIX. shows the value of the mining products of the 
United States in 1880, and the number of miners employed. 
The Census Report does not give the number of gold and 
silver miners. We have endeavored to supply these by deduct- 
ing the number of those given for the other metals and coal 
(220,475) from the total number returned as "miners" (234,228), 
leaving 13,753 for gold and silver miners. We treat petroleum, 
building -stones, and salt as properly belonging to mining, and 
therefore give the number of " hands " employed in their pro- 
duction. The quantity of petroleum given is that of the crude 
oil refined (not that of the total yield of the wells which might 
have been refined); the value is that of the refined oil and other 
products, as already explained. 



TABLE XIX.— QUANTITY AND VALUES OF MINING PRODUCTS. 



Articles. 


Quantity. 


Value. 


Miners, etc. 


Gold 

Lead 

Stone, quarried 

Salt 


1,614,742 ounces. 
31,797,474 " 

7,974,706 tons. 
54,172,017 pounds. 
162,938,105 " 
62,681,459 " 

71,426,436 tons. 
17,417,455 barrels. 
115,380,133 cubic feet 
30,850,000 bushels. 


33,609,663 dollars. ) 
41,110,957 " f 
23,156,957 " 

9,458,434 " 

7,935,140 " ) 

4,240,006 " [ 

3,387,444 " 
95,716,851 " 
43,705,218 " 
18,356,055 " 

5,180,000 " 


13,753 

31,668 
6,258 

7,483 

4,202 
170,864 
21,346 
39,723 

4,473 


Totals 




285,856,725 dollars. 


299,770 



222 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XX. 



FISHERIES AND FISH -CULTURE. 



P to 1880, the Census Reports in relation to the fisheries 



v_J of the United States were so meagre as to be not only 
useless, but in many respects misleading, and so worse than use- 
less. The Census of 1870 reported the value of all the fishery 
products of that year as only $11,000,000. "It is question- 
able," says the Superintendent of the Census, " whether the 
results obtained ever reached 20 per cent. — if, indeed, they 
ever reached 15 per cent. — of the actual facts." But for the 
Census of 1880 preparations for more thorough work were set 
on foot, under the immediate direction of Prof. Baird, Secretary 
of the Smithsonian Institute, and President of the United 
States Fish Commission ; and a comprehensive investigation 
was undertaken into the statistics of the fisheries and fishing 
population of the United States. 

" Special canvassers, well trained for such inquiries," says the Superintend- 
ent of the Census, " were engaged to proceed in boats along the entire eastern 
and southern coast from Maine to Texas, visiting every fishing port or fishing 
village, and collecting the whole body of social and industrial statistics of the 
population engaged in this occupation. . . . Other parties were engaged to can- 
vass the Pacific Coast, the northern lakes, and the western rivers, while special 
agents were employed to work up the oyster fishery, and to obtain statistics of 
the fish-markets of the principal ports." 

The result is, that we have now the means of investigating 
the fishing industry of the country perhaps more ample than 
for any of its other industries. In general, it may be stated that 
it employs 131,426 persons, of whom 101,684 are "fishermen," 
and 29,742 are " shoresmen." The total capital invested is 





LIGHT OF THE PYROSOMA. 
See Note 13. 



FISHERIES AND FISH - CULTURE. 



225 



$37,955,349. This capital comprises 6605 "vessels," with a ton- 
nage of 208,298 tons — value, $9,357,282; and 44,804 boats — 
value, $2,465,393; the minor apparatus and outfits were valued 
at $8,145,261; the remainder of the capital ($17,987,413) in- 
cludes all the shore property. The value of all the products 
of the fisheries in 1880 was $43,046,953. 

It is not possible to state even approximately how large a 
proportion of the value of the products of the fisheries are prac- 
tically paid out in the form of wages, since to a very great ex- 
tent the fishermenare the owners of the boats, and carry on the 
business upon their own account ; and in most cases of deep-sea 
fishing, the fishermen receive as pay a certain fixed proportion of 
the catch, another portion going to the owner of the boats, who 
also furnishes the outfit. But, dividing the entire products by 
the number of all persons — fishermen and shoresmen — engaged 
in the fisheries, we find that the average for the year was $327.50 
for each person. It must be borne in mind, also, that to a very 
considerable extent the fishermen are employed as such for only 
a part of the year, many of them pursuing some other occupation 
during the remaining months. It would, therefore, seem that 
the fishing business ranks high among profitable industries. 

It has been found convenient to divide the fisheries into 
several departments. The oyster, whale, and seal fisheries need 
no explanation. The menhaden fishery is carried on mainly 
along the shores of Long Island, New York, and in the adjacent 
waters. These fish are not used as food to any great extent, al- 
though within a few years they have begun to be put up in the 
same manner as sardines. They are, however, caught mainly 
for the oil which they furnish abundantly, and for manure, for 
which they are very valuable. In the division of " general fish- 
eries," which furnish fully one-half of the entire product, are com- 
prised the cod, the mackerel, the shad, the salmon, and all fresh- 
water fisheries, including those of the great lakes. 

Table XX. shows for each State the number of persons en- 
gaged in fisheries, the amount of capital invested, and the total 
value of the products; and also separates the value of the prod- 
ucts of the oyster, whale, menhaden, and seal fisheries. 

13 



226 THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



TABLE XX.— FISHERIES AND PRODUCTS, BY STATES: 1879. 



States. 


Grand Totals. 


Products of the Several Fisheries. 


Persons 
EmpPd. 


Capita) 
Invested. 


Value of 
Products. 


General 
Fisheries. 


Oyster 
Fishery. 


Whale 
Fishery. 


Menhaden 
Fishery. 


Seal Fish- 
ery. 


Alabama . . 
Alaska. . . . 
California* 

Conn 

Delaware. . 
Florida*. . . 
Georgia . . . 
Illinois. . . . 
Indiana . . . 
Louisiana. . 
Maine 


X umber. 
635 
6,130 
3,094 
3,131 
1,979 
2,480 
899 
300 
52 
1,597 
11,071 
26,008 
20,117 
1,781 
35 
186 
414 
6,220 
7,266 
5,274 
1,046 
6,835 
552 
2,310 
1,005 
601 
18,864 
744 
800 


Dollars. 
38,200 
447,000 
1,139,675 
1,421,020 
• 268,231 
406,117 
78,770 
83,400 
29,360 
93,621 
3,375,994 
6,342,443 
14,334,450 
442,645 
10,160 
8,800 
209,465 
1,492,202 
2,629,585 
506,561 
473,800 
1,131,350 
119,810 
596,678 
66,275 
42,400 
1,914,119 
30,358 
222,840 


Dollars. 

119,275 
2,661,640 
1,860,714 
1,456,866 
997,695 
643,227 
119,993 
60,100 
32,740 
392,610 
3,614,178 
5,221,715 
8,141,750 
716,170 
5,200 
22,540 
176,684 
3,176,589 
4,380,565 
845,695 
518,420 
2,781,024 
320,050 
880,915 
212,482 
128,300 
3,124,444i 
181,372 
253,100 


Dollars. 
74,325 
564,640 
1,341,314 
383,887 
309,029 
426,527 
84,993 
60,100 
32,740 
192,610 
3,576.678 
479,388 
5,581,204 
716,170 
5,200 
12,540 
170,634 
949,678 
1,689,357 
785,287 
518,420 
2,776,724 
132,550 
302,242 
192,482 
81,000 
602,239 
109,960 
253,100 


Dollars. 
44 950 


Dollars. 


UUL lilt 0. 


Dollct F$ 


500 

OA1 fiHO 
— kj 1 , yj 

32,048 




9, OQfi 5 On 
15 750 

111 8^1 

1 1 1,00 1 






672,875 
687,725 


256,205 
941 


15,950 
35 000 


























200,000 
37,500 
4,730,476 
405,550 














Maryland . . 

Mass.* 

Michigan . . 
Minnesota . 
Mississippi. 
N. H 




1 1 851 

61^769 




— ,VOt7,t>0 t 














10,000 
6,050 
2,080,625 
1.577,050 

60,000 














N. J 




146,286 
1,114,158 




New York . 
N. C 




408 




Ohio 






Oregon. . . . 
Penn 








4,300 


187,500 
356,925 
20,000 
47,300 
2,218,376 
10,000 






R. I 




221,748 




S. C 






Texas 








Virginia. . . 
Wash. Ter . 
Wis 




303,829 






61,412 
















Totals. . 


131,426 


37,955,349 


43,046.053 


22,405,018 


13,403,852|2,323,943 


2,116,787 


2,289,813 



It has also been found convenient to group the fisheries into 
six sectional divisions : Division I. comprises the six New Eng- 
land States. Here mostly are carried on the cod, mackerel, and 
whale fisheries ; the value of the entire products of this division 
being about 33.3 per cent, of the whole. Division II. comprises 
the Middle States, exclusive of the fisheries of the great lakes. 
Here are carried on most of the menhaden, about one-third of 
the oyster, and one-eighth of the general fisheries ; the value of 
the products of this division being about 20 per cent, of the 
whole. Division III. comprises the Southern Atlantic States. 
Here are carried on more than one-half of the oyster, and about 

* In Florida there are also sponge-fisheries producing $200,750, in California 
$302,000, and in Massachusetts $3,890, products of "marine salt industry," 
which are included in the total of products for those States. 



FISHERIES AND FISH - CULTURE. 



227 



one-tenth of the general fisheries ; the value of the products of 
this division being about 22.3 per cent, of the whole. Division 
IV. comprises the Gulf States. The fishing industry here is 
comparatively small, the value of its products being about 3 per 
cent, of the whole. Division V. comprises the Pacific States 
and Territories. The seal-fishery is almost wholly carried on 
here, and the general fisheries, especially that of salmon, are very 
extensive ; the value of the products of this division form about 
17.4 per cent, of the whole. Division VI. comprises the Great 
Lakes. The products of this division are included among the 
general fisheries, and form about 4.1 per cent, of the whole. 



TABLE XXL— FISHERIES AND PRODUCTS, BY DIVISIONS : I879. 



Divisions. 


Grand Totals. 


Productions of the Several Fisheries. 


Persons 
Empl'd. 


Capital 
Invested. 


Value of 
Products. 


Geueral 
Fisheries. 


Oyster 
Fishery. 


Whale 
Fishery. 


Meuhadeu 
Fishery. 


Seal 
Fishery. 


Si 


Xumber. 

37,043 
14,981 
52,418 

5,131 
16,803 

5,050 


Dollars. 

19,937,607 
4,426,078 
8,951,722 
545,584 
2,748,383 
1,345,975 


Dollars. 

14,270,393 
8,676,579 
9 602,737 
1,227,544 
7,484,750 
1,784,050 


Dollars. 
10,014,645 
2,882,294 
2,217,797 
713,594 
4,792,638 
1,784,050 


Dollars. 

1,478,900 
4,532,900 
7,068,852 
313,200 
10,000 


Dollars. 

2,121,385 


Dollars. 

539,722 
1,261,385 
315,680 


Dollars. 

111,851 


II 


III 


408 




IV . 




V 


202,150 




2,177,962 


vi. . . . : . 














Totals. 


131,426 


37,955,349 


43,046,053 


22,405,018 


13,403,852 


2,323,943 


2,116,787 


2,289,813 



Each of the different branches of the fishing industry fur- 
nishes matter worthy of consideration in respect of the likeli- 
hood of its being one in which a person can profitably 
engage. 

The Whale -Fishery. — This has shrunk within limits far 
narrower than that which it formerly occupied. Not many 
years ago whale - fishing was extensively carried on from all 
ports in New England, and from some in New York, especially 
that of Sag Harbor in Long Island. Now, of the $2,323,000 
products of the whale-fishery, $2,089,000 were earned in the 
State of Massachusetts; and of this, $1,897,000 were earned by 
vessels from New Bedford, which is now practically the only 
whaling-port of the United States. The New Bedford products 
were 1,135,000 gallons of sperm -oil, value $1,060,000; 595,000 
gallons of whale-oil, value $257,000; 243,000 pounds of whale- 



228 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



bone, value $567,000; 18,000 pounds of ivory, value $5000; 
62 J pounds of ambergris, value $6,225. 

The Seal- Fishery. — The seal-fishery of the United States 
is confined mostly to the procuring of the skins for furs, the 
value of' the flesh and oil being of secondary importance ; where- 
as, in the Greenland seal-fishery, carried on mainly in Nova 
Scotia and Newfoundland, the main product is the oil. Our 
seal-fishery is mainly conducted in Alaska, where, in 1880, there 
were secured 147,450 seal-skins, valued at $1,474,500, or $10 
apiece, a large decrease from 1879; and 3500 sea-otter skins, 
valued at $175,000, or $50 apiece. There is every reason to be- 
lieve that, unless prompt legislation is had to prevent the kill- 
ing of seals in the breeding-season, it will not be very long be- 
fore the animals will become commercially extinct. 

The Salmon - Fishery. — Salmon were formerly abundant 
in all the rivers of the Atlantic side, northward of the Poto- 
mac. They are now practically unknown there. All the salm- 
on caught in Maine in 1850 were valued at only $21,000; in 
Massachusetts there were caught 220 pounds of salmon, valued 
at $33; it does not appear that a single salmon was caught 
elsewhere upon the Atlantic side of the United States. Meas- 
ures have been taken to re -stock these rivers with salmon, of 
which more will be said hereafter. But at present salmon -fish- 
ing belongs wholly to the Pacific side, and mainly to Oregon and 
the Sacramento River, in California, where it employed about 
8000 persons. The total catch of Oregon in 1880 was 39,500,000 
pounds; value, as fresh fish, $2,776,724. But a very large part 
of the salmon were canned, and in that state sent to market. 
In Oregon and California there were some 45 canning establish- 
ments, employing about 8000 hands, and putting up 31,453,000 
pounds of salmon in 1 -lb. cans, the value of which was $3,255,365. 
The cost of the fish canned was $909,818 ; so that there was an 
increased value of $2,345,547 given to the fish by the process 
of canning. These figures evince, beyond possibility of doubt, 
that salmon-fishing in Oregon and the adjacent region is an ex- 
ceedingly profitable industry. 

The Cod- Fishery belongs almost wholly to Massachusetts 



FISHERIES AND FISH - CULTURE. 



231 



and Maine, the catch from those two States in 1880 being about 
228,000,000 pounds. A portion of this, valued at $450,000, 
was consumed fresh ; but the greater part was dried and salt- 
ed for market. From 215,000,000 pounds of fresh codfish, 
80,000,000 pounds of dried fish were prepared, valued at about 
$2,750,000 — making the total products of the cod-fishery about 
$3,200,000. The fishing for hake, halibut, and haddock is es- 
sentially like that of cod. The value of all these fish was about 
$1,800,000, bringing the value of this class of fisheries up to 
at least $5,000,000 in Massachusetts and Maine. 

The Mackerel -Fishery also belongs to Massachusetts and 
Maine. The catch in 1880 was about 90,000,000; the value of 
the product, fresh and pickled, about $1,700,000. 

The Herring- Fishery belongs chiefly to Maine, although 
it is carried on to some extent in Massachusetts. The entire 
value of its products in these two States was, in 1880, about 
$1,200,000. Of this, nearly 2,400,000 pounds, valued at $800,000, 
were put up in Maine as sardines. This sardine industry is a 
new one, which, it seems certain, must receive a very rapid 
growth and development. The products already compare fa- 
vorably with those of France. Until quite recently these Amer- 
ican sardines were put up with French labels, and sold in the 
market as an imported article. The oil used in preparing them 
is that produced from cotton-seed — which is also used in France 
instead of olive -oil, large quantities being exported from the 
United States for that purpose. 

It is not to be expected that the deep-sea fisheries of the 
New England States will in the future show any marked in- 
crease ; most likely, indeed, they will show a decline when com- 
pared with the increase of the population of the country ; for 
the reason that the salt fish, which is their principal product, 
forms a less considerable part of our diet than it formerly did; 
whereas, fresh fish, caught near the shore or in our inland wa- 
ters, becomes of more and more easy access. 

The Oyster-Fishery is by far the most important of any in 
the United States. The value of its products is more than four 
times that of any other kind of fish. Oysters are found near the 



232 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



shores of almost all seas, never very far from the shore, and usu- 
ally in from two to six fathoms of water. Their favorite habita- 
tion is the tranquil waters of the bays formed at the mouths of 
great rivers. Long Island Sound and Delaware and Chesa- 
peake bays are specially adapted to their nature and habits. 
Of the $13,400,000 products of the oyster - fishery, none, of 
course, come from inland waters, only §300,000 from the shores 
of the Gulf States, and not more than $10,000 from the Pacific 
coast. The area suitable for the oyster is therefore very lim- 
ited ; and there is every reason to apprehend, unless prompt 
legislative action is taken to insure their cultivation and to 
regulate their capture, that the oyster- fishery will before very 
long become greatly diminished. 

That such danger exists, and that it may be warded off, we 
learn by European experience. In Great Britain the oyster- 
beds are kept up by careful culture, and by the introduction of 
fresh " seed " from all quarters. Some forty years ago it was 
found that the oyster-beds of France were nearly exhausted. 
About 1858 Government set on foot measures for their resto- 
ration by establishing u oyster -packs" in the sheltered bays of 
St; Brieuc and Arcachon; and these were rapidly extended 
all along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, wherever a 
favorable locality was found. The result has been that the 
oyster -product of France is now far greater than ever before. 
The matter is one which cannot be too strongly urged upon the 
consideration of the State government, and upon that of indi- 
viduals ; and there can be but few departments of industry which 
promise so large and certain profits. 

While these sheets were passing through the press it was 
announced that Prof. Ryder, of the United States Fishery Com- 
mission, had discovered a method for the artificial propagation 
of the oyster. He had ascertained that the American oyster is 
oviparous ; that is, that the young were hatched from eggs, and 
that there are male and female oysters. The eggs of the female 
and the melt of the male are procured by making incisions in 
the " mantle," and are artificially mixed together, just as with 
those of other fish. The eggs are very small, requiring, it is 



FISHERIES AND FISH -CULTURE. 



233 



estimated, 200,000,000 to fill a gill measure. In from four to 
twenty-four hours after the impregnation of the egg, the young 
fry assume the swimming condition, but soon fix themselves to 
some object, and the deposition of the shell begins ; they grow 
so rapidly that after forty-six days the shells are from one-fourth 
to three-fourths of an inch in diameter. If all that is expected 
should be realized in this discovery, it will be perfectly practi- 
cable to establish beds of artificially hatched oysters in all our 
shallow, brackish waters. That is, oysters can be produced at 
will, and be reared and fattened wherever the water is of 
proper saltness. What has heretofore been an uncertainty in 
oystering, will become as certain as the rearing of any other fish 
or animal. 

Fish - Cultivation. — The art of rearing: fish and fattening 
them in ponds has been practised from very ancient times, and 
especially by the Chinese. But the science of fish-breeding, or 
their propagation by means of the artificial impregnation of the 
eggs, is hardly forty years old, although there is evidence that it 
was suggested in Europe as early as 1758. Nothing practical 
was undertaken, upon any considerable scale, until 1849, when 
Prof. Coste, of the College of France, put forth a book upon the 
subject, which gave rise to the present industry of fish-culture, 
which has already accomplished much, and which can hardly 
fail to accomplish much more in the near future. The whole 
science rests upon two great facts : Fish are prolific to an extent 
vastly greater than any other creatures used for human food ; 
and the waters of rivers, lakes, and oceans furnish spontaneously 
food for any conceivable number. Add to this that several of 
the most important species are migratory — setting out when 
young in the pursuit of food for unknown distances, and re- 
turning at stated periods to the rivers and shores for the pur- 
pose of spawning, and so coming within reach of easy capture. 

About i860 several persons in various parts of the United 
States took up fish-culture as an occupation, not as a mere pas- 
time or matter of scientific research. The result of their efforts 
was so promising that in 187 1 the National Government ap- 
pointed a United States Fishery Commission, at the head of 



234 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



which was Prof. Baird, whose duty it was to prosecute investi- 
gations in order to ascertain what diminution had taken place 
in the number of food-fish upon our coasts and in our rivers and 
lakes, and to devise measures to remedy the evil. The efforts 
of this Commission were first directed towards the re-stocking 
of the several waters, to the erection of fish-ways around falls 
and dams, and to procuring the enactment of State laws forbid- 
ding the taking of fish during the spawning season, and regula- 
ting the use of seines, nets, and other wholesale means of capt- 
ure. In time the attention of the Commission was also directed 
to the introduction from other countries of valuable species of 
fish not natives of the United States, but which there was rea- 
son to believe could be naturalized. 

Although much has already been accomplished in the mat- 
ter, there is good reason to believe that the limits of possible 
acclimatization have not yet been reached ; that, for example, 
salmon and shad may be raised and perpetuated in fresh-water 
lakes, without their ever making their way to the ocean. With 
respect to the salmon, at least, this is highly probable ; for there 
are numerous species closely akin to the sea-salmon which have 
their homes in all our great lakes. With respect to the shad, 
there is still room for doubt. But even if salt-water fish, or 
those migratory species who live mainly in salt-water, and only 
come at stated seasons to fresh -water, shall still retain their 
present habits, it is very certain that the raising of other fish 
in all our lakes, ponds, and clear rivers may be carried on quite 
as profitably as the breeding and raising of live-stock can be 
upon our farms. The industry is yet s,o new among us that 
precise statistics are not attainable ; but there is enough to 
warrant the assertion of those best qualified to form an opinion, 
that an acre of fish-pond can be made to yield as much net 
profit to its owner as an acre of pasture, corn-field, or garden. 

If, therefore, a man have upon his own farm a natural fish- 
pond, or if he can make an artificial one by damming up a 
brook, he cannot do better than devote it to fish -culture, just 
as he would devote so much land to agriculture or stock-raising. 
If a considerable stream or pond is bounded by the lands of 



FISHERIES AND FISH - CULTURE. 



235 



several proprietors, they should agree among themselves as to 
the modes of catching the fish, which must, from the nature of 
the case, be the common property of all. In regard to the great 
lakes and waters along the coast, which, and all contained in 
them, belong to the public domain, the exercise of the right of 
fishery should be regulated by general laws — national or state — 
according as to whether these waters pertain to some particular 
State, or to the collective United States. For example, the pres- 
ent destructive manner of catching the menhaden should be so 
far restricted that enough shall still be left to keep up their 
numbers. Shad'- nets should be permitted only at the proper 
season, and with proper nets ; salmon should be allowed free 
access to and from their spawning-grounds. The oyster-beds 
should be most sedulously protected, so that no one now exist- 
ing shall be exhausted, and new ones should be established 
wherever there is a suitable spot. Much has — thanks to the 
Fishing Commission and other organizations — been effected in 
this direction, but more remains to be done. 

The " migratory " fish, especially the salmon and shad, de- 
serve especial attention, for the whole broad ocean is their feed- 
ing-ground. All that is needed to fully stock these watery past- 
ure-fields is to see to it that enough of the parent fish be ena- 
bled to reach their spawning-grounds, and that the young fry be 
enabled in due time to make their exit to the ocean. Once 
there, they will take care of themselves. When it is borne in 
rnind that each female shad has at least 25,000 (sometimes, it is 
said, 150,000) eggs, and each salmon quite as many, and that 
each one of these may become a fish, it will be apparent that 
there need be little trouble in stocking the waters to their prac- 
tically unbounded feeding capacity. How easily this may be 
done, is shown by the fact that eight or ten millions of young 
shad are annually turned loose in the Hudson River from a sin- 
gle shad-hatching establishment near Albany ; and the like, to a 
more limited extent, is done for the Connecticut River, and also for 
rivers farther South. The result is evinced by the fact that the 
shad-fishery in those streams, which had begun to fall away, has 
already regained most of its ancient productiveness. The shad- 



286 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



fishery lasts only a few weeks in the year, but its value in the 
Middle and South Atlantic States was fully $1,000,000 to the 
fishermen employed in the business. 

But even more than with these salt-water fish does piscicult- 
ure commend itself to attention in our fresh-water lakes, ponds, 
and rivers. That nearly all of these, including Lakes Cham- 
plain and Ontario, had been pretty nearly " fished-out," is well 
known. But, to some extent, these have been tolerably re-stock- 
ed. The fisheries of Erie and Michigan produced, in 1880, 
more than $1,000,000, and there is every reason to anticipate a 
continually increasing product, as fishermen grow wiser in their 
methods, and learn how to perpetuate, as well as how to capture, 
the inhabitants of the waters. 

It admits of no question that the fishing industry of the 
United States must become a far more important element than 
it has ever been in national and individual wealth. The prod- 
uct can be increased to any extent, with little labor except the 
mere catching of the fish. Once hatched, they grow and fatten 
without asking man to feed or shelter them. The vast life-sup- 
porting powers of our waters have hardly begun to be appropri- 
ated by man to his uses. Our fisheries are as yet hardly more 
developed than agriculture was before man began to plough and 
plant, and contented himself with merely reaping the chance- 
sown growths of the untilled soil. The ocean, moreover, unlike 
the land, has not been, and never can be, portioned out among 
individual owners. Any man can, without any pre-emption law, 
enter upon any piece of water not actually occupied by another, 
and appropriate all that he finds there. And if it so be that any 
one has come to be the possessor of a piece of inland w r ater, he 
needs, so to speak, only to sow it with fish-seed in order to 
gather such an increase of harvest as few other parts of his pos- 
sessions will yield. 

The various industries immediately connected with fisheries 
— such as the canning of fish and shell-fish — are rapidly growing 
into importance. Men have found them profitable, and, therefore, 
others will find them profitable. The increased value of salmon 
by canning in Oregon and California is noted on page 228. 



FISHERIES AND FISH - CULTURE. 



237 



On the Passamaquoddy River, in Maine, herring worth, when 
fresh, not more than $50,000, were put up as " sardines " in about 
2,400,000 boxes holding one pound each, and their value in this 
condition was $770,000. The statistics of the values of canned 
lobsters show similar results. The ways to wealth opened in 
the fishing industry are, therefore, exceedingly numerous. 



238 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 

HEN the first white emigrants came to the Continent 



V V of North America, they found the whole region densely 
wooded. To cut down the forests was the first essential to 
settlement. The axe of the woodman was too slow an im- 
plement for the purpose, and fire was employed. In an almost 
incredibly short period of time all the settled parts of the At- 
lantic coast, from Maine to Georgia, were bared of trees ; and 
before many years had passed the ruinous effects of this dev- 
astation began to show themselves. They are increasing year 
by year, and the end is not yet. Two generations of wise effort 
will not undo the mischief caused by the folly of a season ; if, 
indeed, it can ever be wholly undone. The old Greeks had a 
word which literally meant " to cut down the trees," but was 
applied to the utter laying waste of a country. We are begin- 
ning to find out, and unless well-considered remedial measures 
are promptly supplied, those who come after us will still more 
sorely find out, that our tree - choppers are the workers of ruin 
to agriculture and consequently to every other interest of the 



The first great evil of the indiscriminate deforesting of a 
country is that it entails a scarcity of water; and water is the 
prime essential of fertility. The hidden fountains of all our 
rivers and wells are in the atmosphere. Every drop of fresh- 
water upon the earth is supplied, in the form of rain or dew, 
from this inexhaustible reservoir. Trees act in several ways in 
regulating the supply of water. In some cases they certainly 
have an important share in actually producing the phenomenon 
of rain. Thus, in the island of St. Helena great attention has 




country. 



FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 



241 



for the last fifty years been given to clothing the steep hill-sides 
with forests, and it is well settled that the quantity of absolute 
rainfall upon the island is twice what it was when Napoleon was 
immured in his ocean -barred dungeon. The reason is obvious. 
Trees in a hot climate always have a temperature lower than 
that of the surrounding atmosphere. The heated air, loaded 
with invisible moisture which it has sucked up while passing 
over the surface of the ocean, comes in contact with these 
cooler trees and is forced to give up a portion of its moisture, 
which is condensed in the form of rain or dew. It is a repe- 
tition, upon a larger scale, of what occurs when a vessel of iced 
water is brought into a heated room. 

Even when trees cannot be shown to exert any positive in- 
fluence in increasing the absolute rainfall, they act most potent- 
ly in the more important matter of regulating its distribution, 
equalizing it from one season to another. They shelter the 
ground beneath them, and thus prevent the rain which falls 
from rapid evaporation, and allow it to sink into the soil, keep- 
ing the springs and fountains in perpetual flow, even in times 
when the windows of heaven are shut for a season. Their 
roots penetrate deep into the earth, and prevent it from being 
washed away by any sudden shower, and form a kind of sponge 
which absorbs the moisture, giving it out slowly and uniformly, 
thus equalizing the flow, and preventing droughts, on the one 
hand, and floods on the other. But when the forests on the 
hill -slopes are cut down, the rain slides down them as upon a 
roof, and every shower swells the brooks to torrents. Every 
rivulet pours its accumulations into the rivers, whose channels 
are insufficient to carry off the sudden accession. Hence come 
sudden inundations, followed almost immediately by low water ; 
for the rainfall, whose flow should have been distributed over 
weeks, is drained off in as many hours. The water which should 
have bubbled up in springs, and flowed in perennial brooks, 
making the meadows green, is carried at once through the 
great rivers to the ocean, to be again taken up by evaporation, 
only to go again through the same changeless round. The 
volume of the great rivers may undergo no apparent change 



242 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



for centuries, especially when they derive their water from a 
wide extent of country, for droughts in one section are balanced 
by showers in another. But the smaller rivers diminish, the 
rivulets dry up, except immediately after rains, when they are 
greatly swollen. Thus, by the constant operation of one law, 
the destruction of the forests causes the two opposite evils of 
droughts and floods. 

There is still another phase of this process of devastation. 
The trees and their roots form a support to the hill -side soil. 
This removed, the soil is washed away by each recurring shower, 
and in no very long time what had been a fertile slope becomes 
a mound of hard clay or a heap of naked rocks, upon which not 
a blade of grass can find root. 

Not a few of the regions which were once the seats of civili- 
zation are now the standing monuments of man's folly or wick- 
edness in baring them of their ancient forests. Palestine was 
once a land of brooks and fountains, of wooded heights and 
well-watered fields; now, except the Jordan, there is hardly a 
valley which is not a " wady " or dry watercourse, save in the 
rainy season. Says Baden- Powell : "In the high lands of cer- 
tain districts, now barren and almost uninhabited, are found 
traces of ancient cultivation. What were once evidently river- 
beds are now dry, and there are ruins of numerous villages. 
The river-beds are dry, except when at the rains they are swol- 
len into sudden torrents." 

The African shores of the Mediterranean, extending far into 
what are now the deserts of Barca and of the Sahara, were, at 
the beginning of our era, and for centuries before and after, the 
granary of the Roman Republic and Empire. Long lines of 
aqueducts now stretch their arches over the burning sands, 
once bringing abundance of water to towns and cities in a 
region where even the camel can scarcely find water to last 
him from one fountain to another. 

So it is in many parts of India, not only in lower Bengal, 
but in the far-off Punjaub, "where the half dried -up streams, 
coming from the now denuded lower hills, point to the inevita- 
ble conclusion that the forest denudation has deprived them of 



FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 



243 



their ancient water supply, and has ruined the rainless countries 
which were once dependent upon them." Among the hills of 
Cevlon, where the forests haye been cut down in order to form 
extensive coffee plantations, the loss of the springs and fountains 
has already grown to be an evil of great magnitude ; and there 
are wide districts which have within our own day been aban- 
doned from this cause. 

In a large portion of Greece the forests that once clothed 
every hill-side have long disappeared, and as a consequence the 
most famous fountains of antiquity now flow only in song. Riv- 
ers of ancient renown have shrunk to rivulets which a child may 
ford. The Lernaean Lake is a stagnant pool, so hidden by 
reeds and rushes that the traveller passes by it without noticing 
it, unless some one points out its site to him. Parts of Spain and 
France have the same story to tell. Italy has suffered less, for 
her lofty mountains are less accessible to the woodman s axe, and 
are yet the parents of perpetual streams ; but she has not es- 
caped. The famous Rubicon has dwindled to a brook so insig- 
nificant that antiquaries are not able with certainty to decide 
which of several is the right one. 

In tropical and semi-tropical regions the immediate connec- 
tion between forests and the water supply is most apparent. 
When the Spice Islands, some two centuries ago, fell into the 
hands of the Dutch, they were covered with a dense growth of 
spice -bearing trees. The new possessors thought it best to in- 
crease the value of the spices by limiting the supply ; so most 
of the trees were cut down, and the islands, once densely peo- 
pled, were transformed into piles of bare volcanic rocks. At 
Penang the Chinese emigrants pursued the same short-sighted 
course which so many of the settlers in our western settlements 
have partially adopted. It was their custom to raise but a sin- 
gle crop from the virgin soil. They cut clown the trees and 
burned them, thus getting for the years crop an abundant sup- 
ply of potash and other elements, and then repeated the process 
the next year upon a new patch. As their cultivation moved 
farther into the island, it left an ever-widening desert behind it ; 
and the island would by this time have become uninhabitable 



244 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



had not the British Government, when it took possession of this 
portion of India, interposed in time to prevent the practice. 

But one need not go to the Old World to find warning ex- 
amples, though as yet the evil has not with us risen to such a 
point as to be irremediable ; but it has for years been growing 
in magnitude, and no one problem in economics is at this mo- 
ment more forcibly impressing itself upon thinking men than 
this of putting bounds to the destruction of our forests, and re- 
storing them, in a measure at least, where they have been wan- 
tonly destroyed. A quarter of a century ago, one whose thoughts 
had been turned in this direction wrote : # 

" Our own country is yet too new, and our forests are yet too numerous and 
extensive, for scarcity of water to have become a serious evil. But like causes 
produce like effects ; and, unless we change our procedure, our children will 
suffer from our wanton carelessness. We have no right, for our own temporary 
gain, to desolate the land. No generation has more than a life-interest in the 
earth, of which it is but a trustee for future generations. Every man who re- 
visits his early home in one of the older States, after an absence of a few years, 
cannot fail to notice the diminution of the streams and springs. There is prob- 
ably no constant water in the brook that turned his toy water-wheel. The 
springs in the pasture, which he remembers as ever-flowing, are dried up ; and 
if it be a season of unusual drought the cattle must be driven long distances to 
water — a necessity that was never known in his boyhood. More especially will 
this be the case if a furnace or neighboring railroad has occasioned a rapid de- 
mand for fuel. The trees have gone, and with them the water ; and the mead- 
ows are dry and parched. In their haste to be rich, the farmers have killed 
the goose that laid the golden eggs for them. 

"Within a mile or two from my father's homestead were some half-dozen 
beautiful ponds lying among the woods. One of these, known as ' Spring 
Pond,' was a perfect gem. It lay in a deep hollow, whose steeply sloping sides 
were clothed with a magnificent growth of maple, beech, and birch. At the 
foot of a sandy bluff the clear, sparkling water welled up, as if from the orifice 
of a subterranean pipe, in two jets as large as a man's body. From this foun- 
tain the water spread out into a pond of perhaps fifty acres, and then flowed 
off in a trout-peopled brook, large enough to turn a mill-wheel. 

"After a dozen years of absence I have just revisited the homestead, and 
took my way towards Spring Pond. There were some well-remembered land- 
marks, but the maples and beeches and birches were all gone. The wood- 
ed bluff was a dry sand -bank. A few water -worn stones marked the place 



In Harper's Magazine, April, 1866. 



FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 



245 



where the spring had been, but it was waterless. The bright pond was a miry 
marsh, with here and there paths trodden by cattle in search of water. The 
trees had been cut down to supply fuel for a neighboring railroad — which, I 
was not sorry to learn, had never paid a dividend to its stockholders — and with 
them had gone sparkling fountain and clear pond and dancing stream. This is 
but a type of what is going on all through our older States. Unless men speed- 
ily grow wiser in this respect, they or their children will have abundant reason 
to deplore their folly when the great cry of drought, to which we are even now 
becoming accustomed, shall be heard season by season all over the land. 

" Let us be careful of our trees. Preserve those which still grow upon 
mountain- sides and ravine - slopes, by fountains and springs. One woodman, 
with a keen axe, will destroy in an hour what it has cost a century to produce, 
and what a centuiy cannot replace. A few cords of wood are, indeed, worth 
something; but many hundreds of cords are not worth as much as a perennial 
spring of water. A few acres added to our present corn-fields will be dearly 
purchased by cursing the land with drought and barrenness. In our Eastern 
States there is even now more need of planting forests than of felling them. 
' Put in a tree ; it will be growing while you are sleeping,' is good advice here 
and now, as it was in Scotland, when the Laird of Dumbiedikes is made to say 
the only wise thing which he ever said." 

Besides their bearing upon the water supply, forests have a 
very important influence upon climate. They not only shade 
the ground from the burning rays of the sun, but the leaves of a 
few trees in full foliage, if spread out on the ground, would cover 
an acre; and every inch of this surface is an evaporating one. 
The temperature in a forest is, from this cause, perceptibly lower 
on a hot day than it is in the shade of a house or wall. The 
terrible hurricanes in some of our prairie States may, perhaps, 
be partially owing to the absence of forests. During a "hot 
spell" the ground becomes heated far above its ordinary tem- 
perature, and the atmosphere above it is proportionally heated 
and rarefied. Now let a cool current of air pass over this rare- 
fied mass, and this cooler and therefore heavier air rushes in 
from every direction to fill the partial vacuum. When the sci- 
ence of meteorology comes to be somewhat more advanced, we 
may possibly be able to foretell hurricanes for some days in 
advance ; but we can conceive of no way of preventing them 
except by removing the inducing causes. Not improbably the 
lack of forests may be one of these. Certain it is, that they are 
more frequent and destructive than they were when the region 



246 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



was better wooded. What the proper proportion is of forests 
to area, will vary with the climatic conditions of any region ; 
but, in general, it may be said that it is greater in a hot than 
in a cold climate. 

The actual existing area of forests must, in most cases, to a 
great extent, be a matter of approximate estimate. A very care- 
ful calculation was made about 1870 of the forest land of Europe 
and North America. According to this, there were in all Eu- 
rope about 725,000,000 acres of forest, being 30 per cent, of the 
whole land surface. But the ratio varied greatly in different 
countries. In Russia there was 40 per cent, of forest, but the 
greater portion of this was in the northern part, the southern 
portion of the empire being very sparsely wooded. The great 
" Steppes " of the Black Sea region are almost treeless. In 
Sweden and Norway there was 34 per cent, of forest; in Ger- 
many, 26; in Italy, 22; in France, 17; in Holland and Spain, 7; 
in Great Britain, about 4 per cent. Spain, which ranks next 
lowest in this respect, needs more forest land than any other 
country in Europe; and there are not wanting those who as- 
cribe her descent in the scale of nations to the destruction of 
her ancient forests more than to any other cause. 

The same estimate gave to Canada about 900,000,000 acres, 
probably an over-estimate, unless we include the far north-west, 
where the forests, though covering great areas, have but few and 
small trees. To the United States were assigned 560,000,000 
acres, or 34.7 per cent, of the land surface. 

In 1875 the United States Commissioner of Agriculture at- 
tempted an estimate of the forest area of the United States, 
based, as far as possible, upon actual statistics. The entire area 
(Alaska and the Indian Territory being included) was put down 
at 2,311,544,959 acres, of which 583,346,836 acres, or 25.2 per 
cent, was forest. But the ratio varied very greatly in different 
States : from only 3 per cent, in Dakota, to 65.9 per cent, in Mis- 
sissippi. The percentage of forest to the total area was : 

In Arizona, 6 per cent. ; Alaska, 30 ; Alabama, 63.5 ; Arkansas, 58 ; Cali- 
fornia, 7.9 ; Colorado, 10 ; Connecticut, 21.2 ; Dakota, 3 ; Delaware, 29.2 ; Flor- 
ida, 50.6 ; Georgia, 62 \ Idaho, 15 ; Illinois, 16.9 ; Indiana, 34.8 ; Indian Terri- 



FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 247 



tory, 8 j Iowa, 14.1 ; Kansas, 5.6 ; Kentucky, 49.1; Louisiana, 59.1 ; Maine, 46.9 ; 
Maryland, 38.4 ; Massachusetts, 29.2 ; Michigan, 47.1 ; Minnesota, 17.1 • Mis- 
sissippi, 65.9; Missouri, 45.4; Montana, 16; Nebraska, 5.2; Nevada, 5 ; New 
Hampshire, 37.2 ; New Jersey, 28.1 ; New Mexico, 6 ; New York, 27.6 ; North 
Carolina, 64.2 ; Ohio, 28.4; Oregon, 25.2; Pennsylvania, 38.9; Rhode Island, 
24.2 ; South Carolina, 60.6 ; Tennessee, 59.9 ; Texas, 26.7 ; Utah, 10 ; Vermont, 
36.5; Virginia, 49.4; Washington, 33; West Virginia, 54.9; Wisconsin, 20.9; 
Wyoming, 8. 

The forest area has certainly decreased very considerably in 
some sections since this estimate was formed. In the great lum- 
bering States the native forests have been rapidly cut down for 
their timber, and in some of the Southern States — as Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama, and Arkansas, where the proportion of forest 
was the highest — large areas have been transformed from forests 
to farms and plantations. Still, if the whole forest land were 
uniformly distributed, it might, perhaps, be fairly adequate to the 
necessity in the respect under consideration. But immense re- 
gions are almost bare of forests, trees being found only along the 
river courses ; and the lack of wood for lumber and general 
building purposes is a very serious evil, even where the defi- 
ciency of wood for fuel may be supplied by the coal-mines. 
This is the case in those of the great prairie States where the 
forests form less than 20 per cent, of the total area, and on 
nearly the whole of the Atlantic slope of the continent. Of 
course it is still greater in the immense region where the ratio 
falls below 10 per cent. It may be said, in general, that in New 
England, most parts of the Middle States, and the lake region, 
not one more tree should be cut down unless another is set out 
to replace it ; and that in large portions of Texas, California, 
Dakota, and Colorado, there should be five trees planted for 
every one cut down for any purpose. This topic will be further 
considered in the succeeding chapter on Lumbering Products. 

The evils of deforesting a country have for many years at- 
tracted attention in Europe, and more recently in the United 
States and Canada. And a profession — that of Forestry — has 
gradually grown up, having for its object the preservation — not 
the destruction — of the forests. This new profession offers great 
inducements to those who are intelligently looking out for op- 



248 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



portunities of profitable employment. As long ago as 185 1 a 
special committee of the British Royal Association drew up an 
elaborate Forest Report, which was published by order of Par- 
liament. Although referring especially to the British Domin- 
ions, nearly every suggestion embodied in this report is equally 
applicable to the United States. Of this report we present the 
essential features : 

" 1. Over large portions of the globe there is a wanton destruction of the in- 
digenous forests. 2. Improvements have been introduced ; and these may be 
extended by making still more stringent legal restrictions for the preservation 
or planting of seedlings in the place of mature trees removed ; by the prohibi- 
tion of the cutting down of trees until they are well grown, and, in case they pro- 
duce gums, resins, or other valuable products, taking greater care not to in- 
jure the trees by improper tapping or notching. 3. Especial attention should 
be given to the preservation and maintenance of the forests occupying tracts 
unsuited to other culture, whether by reason of altitude or other peculiar- 
ities of physical structure. 4. It is a duty to prevent the excessive waste of the 
timbers useful for building and manufactures. 5. In a region to which the 
maintenance of its water supplies is of essential importance, the cutting down 
of the forests in the localities whence those supplies are derived should be 
prevented." 

This last recommendation is the one of most pressing im- 
mediate importance to us. What, for example, is the use of 
spending $20,000,000 or more in building a new aqueduct for 
supplying water to the city of New York, if in a few years the 
region to be drawn upon by this aqueduct shall become so arid 
as not to be reliable for a constant and regular supply of water ? 
It matters not that in the wet season there should be ever so 
much water running to waste from the dams and reservoirs, if 
in the dry season there is no supply. As a preliminary measure, 
the State should have absolute control of all the forest land in 
the region to be drawn upon, paying, of course, an equitable 
sum for the land thus appropriated. Without such provision 
the aqueduct might in time be as useless as are the ruins of 
those which bestride the Barcan desert. 

Something looking in the right direction has been begun. 
Among the things done are the Timber Cultivation Act of 
Congress, and similar enactments in several States, and "Arbor- 



FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 249 



day" in some other States. It is something to know that on 
Arbor-day, 1876, there were 1,400,000 trees set out in poorly- 
timbered Minnesota, although the number set out was only 
a third as great the next year; and we are not told how many 
of the trees thus set out survive transplanting. If Arbor- day 
should result only in having village streets and some country 
highways lined with shade - trees, something will have been at- 
tained. If a few hundred sections of public lands now treeless 
should be forested, so far so good. If every farmer who has a 
rocky patch of land would set out upon it such trees as once 
grew there, very much would be gained, both by him and the 
public. If a few adjoining farmers would thus act in common, 
they would in time find constant brooks running in their ancient 
channels, which are now, except after a shower or the melting of 
the snow, as dry as the rocky ravines of the Sinai desert, down 
which running streams once coursed. 

Our few great landholders — railway corporations, for exam- 
ple — could easily do what the largest British landholders have 
been doing for the last forty or fifty years, with such success as 
to warrant Mr. Brown, the author of the most thorough British 
book on Forestry, to say: "In England and Scotland, land 
unfit for high farming will, under wood and good management, 
at the end of 70 years, pay three times as much as any other 
crop." Or to cite the words of Mr. Franklin Hough, our best 
— one might almost say, our only — writer on Forestry: " If a 
piece of soil is quite valuable for tillage, its value will doubtless 
be greater for that use than for forests. The best land will, of 
course, produce the best trees, but the grain which they will 
yield will be worth more than the trees would be. But there 
are vast tracts almost worthless for grain, which will be worth 
much for timber." 

Railroads must in any case have wood — for ties especially ; 
and a railroad tie is a very perishable article. Those corpora- 
tions which own great tracts of land will soon be forced to grow 
their own ties ; and the sooner they seriously set about it, the 
better will it be for them. Instead of trying to force all their 
land upon the market, they should reserve a goodly part for this 



250 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



purpose. Every score of miles of track should have, closely 
bordering upon it, forest enough to furnish timber for ties, 
trestles, stations, and all the wood-work required. And, more- 
over, the value of the land adjacent to a forest would be greatly 
enhanced in many ways. The man who shall, fifty years hence, 
journey by rail from the Missouri to the Sacramento or the 
Columbia, should never be out of sight of a dense forest. 

Fortunately for us, Government, National or State, is yet 
the great land - owner, and should be the great forester. It still 
owns most of the regions which are the sources of our great 
rivers. The more unfertile regions of Texas, Colorado, Cali- 
fornia, Dakota, and Arizona should be reserved for forests ; and 
if now treeless should be made wooded. It does not need to be 
proven that this is practicable — is even not difficult of execution. 
But the work must be set about wisely. What is needed just 
now, more than any other one thing, is schools of Forestry, such 
as exist in Austria, France, and Germany. We have a Military 
Academy and a Naval Academy, all doubtless needful ; but 
quite as much as either of these do we need a National Agri- 
cultural Academy and a National Forest Academy. 

In Prussia there are about 20,000,000 acres of forest land, 
of which about 6,000,000 acres belong to the State, and are 
managed by it. The revenue from this forest land amounted, 
at the date of the latest reports, to about $10,000,000, of which 
about half went to defray the cost of management, including the 
expenses of the schools of forestry. From an elaborate Report 
on Forest Management, issued not long since by the British 
Parliament, we learn that 

" In Germany the forest service is a State department, filled by youths of 
good position who are specially trained for the service, the period of training 
occupying five years. The would-be Oberforster must, after passing certain 
terms at a Government school, spend a year with an * over -forester,' and then 
pass an examination as 1 forest-pupil after which there is a two years' course 
at a forest academy, and an examination in scientific forestry, land-surveying, 
etc., when he becomes a 'forest-candidate ;' then the other two years' practical 
study, during at least nine months of which he must actually perform the duties 
of a forester, after which comes the final Government examination, on passing 
which he enters the grade of * over -forester- candidate.' After passing this ex- 



FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 



251 



amination, he is employed as an assistant in academies and control-offices, etc., 
receiving certain allowances. After five or six years of this probation he may 
look forward to being permanently employed. Thus we have at least five years 
spent in study, without pay, and the other five in probation, with little pay, before 
he is installed. Yet so great is the desire for forest service that there is no 
lack of competitors." 

The forest service for the 6,000,000 acres of Prussia employs 
about 5000 persons, of all ranks, as regularly graded as in the 
army, from " foresters," through "over-foresters," " forest-masters," 
and " over-forest-masters," up to the "overland-forest-master," who 
is a member of the Ministry. The " foresters," numbering about 
4000, answer somewhat to our cadets, or to our non-commissioned 
officers in the army and navy; " over -foresters" and the others 
to lieutenants, captains, and colonels in the army. Each forester 
has under his care from 1000 to 3000 acres of woods ; the " over- 
foresters" three or four times as much; the "forest-masters" 
60,000 acres or more. The result is that in Prussia 

"The forests have all been surveyed, valued, and divided into blocks; and there 
are accurate maps representing the extent and situation of each forest district, 
and the description and age of the timber growing on each block. Whatever 
be the size of the forest, every tree is recorded, and a working plan is drawn up 
and followed, certain species being destined to longer or shorter growth, ac- 
cording to their promise of vitality or liability to decay. The maps form the 
starting-point of every true system of forestry." 

In the great Bavarian forest -school of Aschaffenburg, the 
term of study is shorter ; but in order to enter it the candidate 
must have passed the course of the higher school or "gym- 
nasium," which includes the classics, mathematics, natural his- 
tory, and chemistry. The pupils are usually from seventeen to 
nineteen years of age when admitted, and for the first year be- 
come apprentices, assisting in the practical work of a forest 
district. The course of study in the school itself occupies two 
and a half years ; and not until the student has passed his final 
examination is he eligible for appointment in the forest service. 
The course of study comprises the following subjects : 

" 1. Forestry : General management, planning operations, valuation surveys, 
rotation and details of working plan, transport and sale of timber and other 



252 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



forest products. 2. Natural Science, with special reference to forest require- 
ments ; meteorological phenomena, organic chemistry, nutrition of plants, sys- 
tematic botany and zoology, entomology. 3. Mechanics, Surveying, Engineering, 
and Road -making. 4. Forest Legislation and Police. Practical instruction is 
given in the laboratory, and excursions are made in the forests. Careful ob- 
servations are also made regarding the influence of forests on the air and soil, 
their hygienic importance, and effect on climate." 

In this chapter we have considered forests mainly with re- 
gard to their wide and intimate relations to water supply, cli- 
mate, and the like. But their mere pecuniary value for timber 
and other products demands further elucidation. Do away as 
much as we can with the use of wood for fuel, for house-build- 
ing, for ship-building, for machinery and implements, yet there 
will remain innumerable uses for which wood* remains an abso- 
lutely essential, or at least the most convenient, material. 



LUMBER AND OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS. 



253 



CHAPTER XXII. 

LUMBER AND OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS. 

IN many sections of the United States the forests have al- 
ready been practically annihilated-for the sake of the lumber 
produced from them. But there were, even in 1880, some of the 
most densely-wooded regions, especially in the South, where this 
industry had hardly been introduced, and where it has since that 
time been greatly extended. Thus, in 1879 Alabama produced 
lumber to the value of only about $1,500,000; the value in 1882 
is set down at $8,000,000. The result of this will be the same 
as has been produced elsewhere, unless wiser means are adopted 
than have heretofore prevailed. The forests will disappear ; and 
it must be borne in mind that it is very rarely that a tract from 
which the forest has once been cut down has any value for lum- 
ber. Hardly any attempt has been made anywhere to preserve 
or renew our forest lands. Indeed, we find only one effort in 
this direction. We are told by the special forestry agent of the 
Census Office that " The system of cutting only the large trees, 
and carefully protecting the remainder, prevails in Maine, and 
allows the forest to be profitably worked at stated periods, vary- 
ing from fifteen to twenty-five years. Their permanence is thus 
secured. Considerable areas in Southern Maine are covered 
with second-growth pine, which furnishes a large proportion of 
the pine sawed in the State." Elsewhere we meet with such in- 
formation as this: "The original white -pine forests of New 
Hampshire are exhausted. . . . The original white -pine forests 
of Vermont are practically exhausted. The estimated amount 
of merchantable black spruce standing May 31, 1880, was 
755,000,000 feet, board measure. During the preceding year 



254 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



199,000,000 feet were cut, and 16,200,000 feet were imported 
from Canada." At this rate the entire timber supply of Ver- 
mont would be exhausted in less than four years from 1880. 

The general evils springing from the destruction of the for- 
ests have already been considered. We now present the statis- 
tics of the lumber industry for 1880. This, it will be seen, ranks 
among our great industries. It employed $180,000,000 of cap- 
ital, gave employment to an average number of nearly 150,000 
persons (and occasionally to at least half as many more), who re- 
ceived as wages nearly $32,000,000; and the whole value of the 
lumbering product was $233,000,000, of which the logs them- 
selves were worth nearly $140,000,000. Table XXII. gives for 
each State the number of lumbering establishments in 1880, the 
capital and average number of hands employed, the amount of 
wages paid, the value of the logs, and the total value of all the 
products. 

The products of the logs brought from the forests and re- 
duced to lumber were : 18,091,356,000 feet of lumber, board meas- 
ure ; 1,761,788,000 laths; 5,555,046,000 shingles ; 1,248,226,000 
staves; 146,523,000 sets of headings; and 34,076,000 feet, board 
measure, of spool and bobbin stock. Dividing the amount of 
wages paid during the year by the average number of hands em- 
ployed, and we have only $215 a year for each ; but only a por- 
tion of those actually engaged in lumbering worked at this oc- 
cupation continuously through the year. Still the mere work 
of felling the trees and hauling or floating the logs must rank 
low among our remunerative occupations. 

The mere lumber, as such, constitutes only a small part of 
the real importance of our forests. Wood is indispensable for 
the manufacture of innumerable articles, each of which con- 
stitutes a great industry of itself. Take a single example of a 
considerable product of the forest which was practically un- 
known five years ago. Rags and similar fibrous materials, from 
which paper was formerly almost exclusively made, are wholly 
insufficient to supply the present demand for paper. " Wood- 
pulp"— that is, wood rasped or ground to an impalpable sub- 
stance—enters very largely into the composition of wrapping- 




SNAKING OUT LOGS. 
See Note 16. 



LUMBER AND OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS. 257 



paper, card-board, paste-board, and of most printing-papers, and 
of not a few writing-papers. The newspaper which you read 
is, in effect, printed upon a sheet made in great part, sometimes 
almost wholly, of spruce, pine, birch, or poplar chips. The bark 
and rotten wood being cleared off, the sound wood is reduced to 
pulp in one of two ways : Either mechanically, by being ground 



TABLE XXII.— LUMBERING AND ITS PRODUCTS. 



States. 


Establish- 
ments. 


Capital. 


Hands. 


Wages. 


Logs. 


All Products. 




3 umber. 


Dollars. 


Number. 


Dollars. 


Dollars. 


Dollars. 




354 


1,545,655 


1,647 


424,156 


1,517,986 


2,649,634 




13 


102,450 


79 


33,375 


126,486 


215,918 




319 


1,067,840 


1,744 


237,394 


1,009,954 


1,793,848 




251 


6,454,718 


3,434 


1,095,736 


2,055,635 


4,428,950 




96 


481,200 


877 


112,931 


654,500 


1,051,295 


Connecticut 


300 


657,300 


707 


178,336 


609,024 


1,076,455 


Dakota 


39 


113,750 


290 


54,974 


269,235 


435,792 




86 


259,250 


391 


40,694 


229,763 


411,060 


Dist. of Columbia. . 


1 


25,000 


25 


6,000 


32,000 


50,000 


Florida 


135 


2,219,550 


2,030 


562,249 


1,763,617 


3,060,291 


Georgia 


65o 


3,101,452 


3,392 


554,085 


3,049,435 


4,875,310 


Idaho 


48 


192,460 


173 


33,367 


213,691 


448,635 


Illinois 


640 


3,295,483 


3,851 


787,867 


2,959,537 


5,063,037 




2,022 


7,048,088 


10,339 


1,571,740 


9,290,428 


14,260,830 


Iowa 


328 


4,946,390 


2,989 


825,244 


4,023,661 


6,185,628 


Kansas 


146 


262,975 


516 


66,757 


421,738 


682,697 




670 


2,290,558 


2,601 


671,939 


2,238,888 


4,064,361 




175 


903,950 


976 


200,063 


1,106,280 


1,764,640 


Maine 


848 


6,339,396 


6,663 


1,161,142 


4,754,613 


7,933,868 


Maryland 


369 


1,237,694 


1,239 


223,786 


1,041,836 


1,813,332 


Massachusetts 


606 


2,480,340 


1,970 


431,612 


1,827,497 


3,120,184 




1,649 


39,260,428 


24,235 


6,967,905 


30,819,003 


52,449,928 


Minnesota 


234 


6,771,145 


2,854 


924,473 


4,408,468 


7,366,038 




295 


922,595 


1,170 


197,867 


1,190,902 


1,920,335 


Missouri 


881 


2,867,970 


2 503 


669,644 


3 113 049 


5 265,617 




36 


'208^200 


'l42 


47^945 


257,320 


'527', 695 


Nebraska 


38 


93,375 


140 


29,313 


153,823 


265 062 




9 


132,000 


35 


9^892 


151^790 


243^200 


New Hampshire . . . 


680 


3,745,790 


3,104 


548,556 


2,159,461 


3,842,012 


New Jersey 


284 


1,657,395 


768 


179,693 


942,752 


1,627,640 


New Mexico Ter. . . 


26 


74,675 


172 


24,240 


100,145 


173,930 




2,822 


13.230,934 


11,445 


2,162,972 


8,628,874 


14,356,910 


North Carolina .... 


776 


1,743,217 


3,029 


447,431 


1,490,616 


2,672,796 


Ohio 


2,352 


7,944,412 


9,317 


1,708,300 


8,603,127 


13,864,460 




228 


1,577,875 


579 


242,154 


1,294,703 


2,030,463 




2,827 


21,418,588 


14,914 


2,918,459 


13,378,589 


22,457,359 




49 


144,250 


152 


33,143 


116,085 


240,579 




420 


1,056,265 


1,468 


221,963 


1,170,088 


2,031,507 




755 


2,004,503 


3,718 


549,222 


2,006,124 


3,744,905 


Texas 


324 


1,660,952 


3,186 


732,914 


1,909,794 


3,673,449 




107 


272,750 


385 


65,175 


216,619 


375,164 


Vermont 


688 


3,274,250 


2,511 


426,953 


1,939,775 


3,258,816 


Virginia 


907 


2,122,925 


4,011 


540,231 


1,864,288 


3,434,163 


Washington Ter . . . 


37 


2,456,450 


499 


200,539 


1,174,005 


1,734,742 


West Virginia 


472 


1,668,920 


2,183 


459,945 


1,307,843 


2,431,857 




704 


19,824,059 


8,465 


2,257,218 


12,219,097 


17,952,347 




7 


26,700 


38 


6,380 


24,725 


40,990 


Totals 


25,708 


181,186,122 


147,956 


31,845,974 


139,836,869 


233,268,729 



258 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



into pulp by means of heavy millstones revolving rapidly in 
water; or chemically, by boiling the chips, under heavy press- 
ure, in a solution of caustic soda. Without wood-pulp our 
great newspapers would not find it easy to procure the al- 
most countless tons of white paper which they need, or our 
paper-hangers to cover our walls ; and the paste-board boxes, 
which we find so convenient for many purposes, could not be 
made in their present numbers or at their present prices. Fort- 
unes have been made, and are now making, by converting wood 
into paper. 

The reported value of the trees growing upon a single acre 
of woodland exceeds all belief, unless there were corroborative 
facts and figures. We condense, almost at random, from the ex- 
cellent Forest Report already cited : 

" In Maine the average value of farm lands is about $13 per acre, woodland 
averaging about the same. But in districts where the lumber can be readily 
brought to market, the value of forest lands vies with the richest orange and 
grape soils in California or the sugar region of Louisiana. In Sagadahoc and 
Hancock counties the average value of woodland is $50 per acre. In York 
County, although the first, and in many cases the second, crop of white pine has 
been cut off, the quantity now growing has been increasing, and it is estimated 
that in a forest of fifty years' growth the wood is worth $250 per acre, and in one 
of seventy years' growth $500 per acre, on the stump. In Cumberland County 
the average value of forests, reckoned as woodland, is $80; timber land $120 
per acre. In New Hampshire, in Sullivan County, the best forests yield sixty 
cords per acre, mostly hard-wood, worth, standing, $1 per cord, and 20,000 feet 
of soft lumber, worth from $2.50 to $5 per 1000 feet. In Grafton County many 
acres of spruce forests are valued at $1000, and of hemlock at $500 per acre. 
Large tracts of birch, for peg-wood, and of poplar, for paper-pulp, sell at $20 per 
acre ; and it is estimated that the forests in the county average in value $50 per 
acre. In Vermont, in Lamoille County, about half the forest lands produce soft 
timber, and these lands sell at from $5 to $20 per acre, according to location 
and value of soil. The other half is made up of hard - wood varieties, of which 
the most valuable is the sugar -maple; and maple - orchards sell at $100 to 
$200 per acre. In Massachusetts, in Bristol County, the best growths of pine 
are worth $200 per acre. In a few instances old fields have been set out with 
pine timber, and in most cases the investment has proved judicious. In Con- 
necticut, in Windsor County, the heaviest forests have all been cut down, and 
most of the forest area is too rocky and sterile to cultivate ; but upon about one- 
fourth of the forest area pines and chestnuts grow so rapidly that in twenty or 
thirty years they will make boards twelve to eighteen inches wide. Land on 




RAFTS IN THE DELLS. 
See Note 17. 



LUMBER AND OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS. 



261 



which timber is growing increases in market value every year. In Litchfield 
County iron furnaces have been in operation more than a century, and to supply 
them with charcoal the hills have been repeatedly stripped of their coverings ; 
but after the trees have been cut down, most kinds sprout vigorously from 
the stump, and others spring up from the seed, so that if cattle are excluded the 
forest is soon renewed. Sprout- land, kept for wood, has proved remunerative, 
yielding every twenty-five years twenty -five cords per acre, worth $2 a cord, 
standing." 

These data evince that in the New England States there is 
even now ample opportunity for the remunerative exercise of 
forestry. We find similar facts in abundance as we pass to the 
Middle States : 

" In New York, in Washington County, all the accessible original timber 
has been cut off; yet there are some groves of hemlock, valued at $500 per 
acre, of pine, at $1000, and of oak and hemlock at fabulous prices. In Livings- 
ton County it is held that one - eighth of the land now under cultivation, if it 
were planted in forests for wind-breaks and fuel, would largely increase the 
agricultural resources and value of the county: a suggestion well worthy of con- 
sideration, especially, as elsewhere noted, in fruit-raising. In Otsego County 
many tracts, after the timber has been cut off, are kept for successive crops of 
hop-poles, the trees attaining the proper growth in about ten years ; an acre 
often yielding 2000 poles, worth, standing, from $40 to $60. Good timber land 
is worth $50 per acre, and at that rate the wood product will pay for it, leaving 
the cleared land for net profit. In the southern part of New Jersey there are 
few forests remaining, and the farmers consider land from which timber has 
been cut too valuable for forest cultivation, though chestnut is excepted, on ac- 
count of its rapid growth. In Camden County the few acres of white and 
black oak and chestnut of first growth are valued at $300 per acre ; second 
growth at $30; first growth cedar, $600 to $800; second growth, $25 to $75. As 
evidence that the oftener chestnut is cut, the more the growth is multiplied, it 
is stated that the sprouts of one stump produced sixty railroad ties, worth 50 
cents each. In Pennsylvania the wooded portions are very large • but many of 
them are so situated that the timber cannot find a market. In Bedford County, 
where there are twelve acres of forest to one acre under cultivation, the moun- 
tains are covered with pine, oak, and chestnut, and a tract of chestnut will 
yield per acre 3000 or 4000 rails for fencing, worth from $30 to $50, and so 
rapid is the growth of this tree that in sixteen years after the first cutting the 
land will reproduce an equal yield. In Lancaster County the wood of good 
timber land sells at $300 per acre, the land itself not included. Locust-trees 
are planted along the fences on farms, and are considered very valuable. In 
Chester County the best forests sell for $125 to $200 per acre, the land not 
included." 



262 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



In the Southern States the forests themselves have been 
unremunerative, owing to the limited market for wood and 
lumber, arising from the deficiency of means of transportation. 
The Report says : 

" Beyond a quite limited use for building, and the demand for fences and 
railroad ties, there is scarcely any home market. A peculiarity of the forest 
lands in these States is a vast extent of second growth, mainly pine, covering 
soil mostly worn out by exhaustive cultivation, and abandoned. Included in 
the primeval forests yet remaining are extended tracts of yellow and pitch-pine, 
and immense swamps of cypress and cedar, varieties of oak, including live-oak 
in the Gulf States. Hickory, walnut, cherry, poplar, gum, and chestnut are 
among the valuable kinds generally diffused." 

A change in this respect has begun, and the timber of these 
States is beginning to have a market value. But the first re- 
sults of this change were unfavorable ; notably so in Virginia. 
The people, exhausted by the results of the civil war, were per- 
haps forced to look only to present remuneration, irrespective 
of the future. The forests of some portions of the State af- 
forded one of the readiest resources, and a wholesale dev- 
astation of them took place.. In Pittsylvania County timber 
land decreased to 30 or 40 per cent, in five years ; the wood 
cut down was sold at a merely nominal price, the main purpose 
being to get new land for tobacco and other crops. In Smyth 
County "timber lands vary in value from $3 to $25 per acre; 
in many instances the chestnut -oak is cut for the bark, and the 
timber is left to decay." In Roanoke County, " since the war, 
the indiscriminate destruction of forest for miles back from the 
railroad, for wood, has been highly disadvantageous." In James 
City County " two-thirds of the area is in forest ; pine, the most 
valuable timber, is being rapidly cut into wood, shipped to New 
York, and plank shipped to Baltimore." In Henrico County 
" the destruction of the forests by both armies during the war 
was very great." Spottsylvania County " has 60 per cent, of 
its area in forests, of which 10 per cent, is timber land, val- 
ued at $20 per acre, and 50 per cent, land that will average 
fifteen cords of wood per acre, worth 25 cents per cord, stand- 
ing." Buchanan County "abounds in forests heavily timbered 



LUMBER AND OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS. 263 



with hard -woods, which, remote from rafting streams, can be 
bought at from 50 cents to $1 per acre." These statements, 
and numerous others to the same general purport, furnish 
abundant reasons why the maintenance of the forests should 
receive prompt and careful attention in Virginia. North Car- 
olina presents conditions similar to those in Virginia. The 
Report says : 

" Haywood County has about 80 per cent, of its area in forest, a great 
portion being mountainous. In many instances timber is considered a nuisance, 
and every means for its destruction are resorted to, even to placing it in huge 
piles and burning it to ashes. In Beaufort County fully 80 per cent, of the land 
area is covered with forest, one-half of which is of original growth • there are 
many saw-mills occupied in sawing lumber for the Northern and West India 
markets, and millions of cypress shingles are annually shipped. Alamance 
County contains 60,000 acres in original forest, besides a vast amount of land 
covered with second growth in different stages. Land worn out and abandoned 
as worthless has been restored, it is said, to its original fertility by a growth of 
pine, much of which now affords timber suitable for building. In Person 
County the original forests of hard -wood are being rapidly cleared up for the 
purpose of growing tobacco, the timber being mostly burned on the land. The 
forests of Madison County abound in timber — chestnut and locust, poplars five 
feet in diameter, and white pine from two to four feet in diameter and one 
hundred and fifty feet high; yet all this magnificent timber is worth from $10 
to $12 per acre less than nothing — the owners paying at that rate for having 
it removed from the land in order to fit it for cultivation. In Gaston County 
it is still not uncommon in clearing land to kill a part of the timber by gird- 
ling, and cut down the remainder, burning it on the ground. Many of the old 
fields are densely covered with pines of thirty or forty years' growth. In Ran- 
dolph County more than 67 per cent, of the area is yet in forests, which, with 
a railroad running near, would be very profitable. In Gates County the for- 
ests abound in pine timber, worth about $4 per acre ; and the swamps in cy- 
press and juniper, which, with shipping facilities, would be valuable." 

If one will read these statistics with a map before him, he 
cannot fail to perceive that forest culture and forest manage- 
ment is one of the chief directions to which the industry of 
North Carolina should turn. Let her people not heedlessly cut 
down the forests in order to get two or three crops of tobacco, 
but preserve a due proportion of them as forests, and the lands 
of the State will be growing more and more valuable year by 



264 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



year. In natural physical conditions North Carolina is not un- 
like Spain. Let her not follow the bad example of that country 
in regard to her forests. 

Georgia and Alabama, except in latitude and climate, bear 
many close analogies to the New England States. Both possess 
extensive water-power, and hence should become, to a consider- 
able extent, manufacturing States. Both have abundant forests, 
and have good natural facilities for working up their forest prod- 
ucts and sending them to market. Both, as lumbering States, 
should rank with Maine and Michigan, which cannot, with the 
wisest management, keep up the supply of the lumber required 
for the Union. Both of these States have, moreover, need for 
that regulation of the supply and distribution of water which is 
afforded by^forests. In both States, therefore, forestry should 
have ample consideration. 

The five Central States — Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, 
and Wisconsin — present some special forest aspects. Originally 
they were far less densely wooded than the Eastern and South- 
eastern States, but fully one-third of their area was covered by 
forests, especially on the river -banks, where they are most 
needed. The timber, except in the case of the white pine of 
Michigan, is not largely exported from the neighborhood of its 
growth, but yet the local demand for it is sufficient to warrant 
its preservation ; and so wooded land is not largely cleared up 
for the mere purpose of getting rid of the timber. The conse- 
quence is, that nearly 30 per cent, of the area of these States, 
taken as a whole, is still more or less wooded with timber of first 
or second growth. Were it not for the over-rapid cutting away 
of the pine forests of Michigan, the forestry of these States is 
not in a very unsatisfactory condition. Land, in most parts, is 
too valuable for cultivation to warrant the expectation that any 
large forests will be maintained ; but the planting of considera- 
ble belts of forest -trees, for the purpose of sheltering orchards 
and cultivated fields, is in every way desirable. 

The generally well -wooded State of Missouri lies like a 
wedge between this fairly-forested section and the half-wooded 
Iowa and Minnesota, and the almost treeless Kansas and Ne- 



LUMBER AND OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS. 265 



braska. In these last four States the creation of forests is a 
matter of paramount importance in every point of view. 

In Iowa very successful efforts have been made in this di- 
rection. Thus, still citing the Forestry Report: "In Manona 
County a large portion of the farmers are cultivating timber, 
mostly cotton-wood, walnut, ash, and maple ; some have thirty to 
forty acres planted, and many plant belts around each quarter- 
section." In Tama County " there are fully 50,000 acres of tim- 
ber planted, all of which grows with great thrift." In Hardin 
County " our correspondent planted, ten years ago, one acre in 
trees — willows and cotton-wood — eight feet apart each way; find- 
ing them too thick, he cut out every other tree, and the product 
was 13 cords of wood, worth $4 a cord; the cost of cutting was 
75 cents per cord; this would give a net profit of $84.50 on an 
acre of poor land for ten years. The average value per acre of 
the wheat crop of the State was just twenty cents more." In 
Crawford County, where " timber land averages only one acre 
to forty-five acres of prairie, large numbers of the more thrifty 
farmers have planted groves of maple, cotton-wood, black-walnut, 
and box-elder, which have grown with great rapidity ; and the 
vast expanse of treeless prairies which a few years ago stretched 
as far as the eye could see in every direction, is now dotted over 
with beautiful groves, which greatly add to the wealth of the 
county." Plymouth County " has only a few acres of natural 
forest along the streams. The township of Lemars, when set- 
tled seven years ago, had not a tree; it now has 190 acres of 
planted forests and 15 miles of willow hedge." 

In Minnesota " there is a wide-spread interest in the planting 
of forest-trees, which is assuming organized efficiency ; there is 
also an extensive spontaneous growth of thrifty timber-trees on 
uncultivated prairies protected from fires. Many acres, once 
burned over annually, are now covered with a thick, young 
growth." This last statement is substantially repeated for vari- 
ous sections of the State, and indicates that nature is helping 
those who help themselves. " As soon as the prairies are pro- 
tected from fire, groves of timber spring up." " Where running 

fires have been prevented, fine groves of oak are springing up." 

15 



266 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



This shows that the absence of forests in this region is not 
owing to any inherent defect of soil or climate. 

In Kansas and Nebraska the percentage of forest to the total 
area is less than in any part of Europe, except Great Britain, and 
is certainly not more than one-fourth of what it should be, al- 
though " on original prairies forest-growth has for some years 
been increasing from two causes : the arrest, by cultivation, of 
prairie -fires, which has resulted in the spontaneous springing 
up, on uncultivated portions, of a thick growth of young trees ; 
and by the planting of trees, stimulated by legislative encour- 
agement and by assured success in respect to both growth and 
profit. In addition to the pecuniary gain, there has been a per. 
ceptible modification of the climate, especially in the assuaging 
of the severity of the once unimpeded winds." Naturally, per- 
haps, the trees planted have been too largely of the soft, quickly- 
growing kinds, and recently attention has been directed to spe- 
cies ultimately, though not so immediately, of more value. 

California has especial need of forest-trees and forestry, and 
here, perhaps more than in any other State, has attention been 
turned to the introduction of foreign species of forest-trees. The 
eucalyptus, or "blue -gum" of Australia, has been more exten- 
sively planted than any other kind. So small is the proportion 
of forest, and so wide is the extent of regions where there are 
no forests at all, that there is ample reason for a confident be- 
lief that increasing attention will in future years be paid to 
this subject. 



AMERICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY. 267 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF AMERICAN FORESTS AND 

FORESTRY. 

THE foregoing chapter refers especially to the forest con- 
dition of the United States as it was in 1875, when an 
elaborate report thereon was prepared by the Agricultural De- 
partment, based, to a considerable extent, upon the Census of 
1870. During the Census year 1880, and subsequently, still 
more elaborate investigations were carried on ; but the results 
of these have been only partially published in isolated reports. 
From these and other sources we deduce some conclusions as 
to the present condition and future prospects of the country in 
the respect under consideration : The forests, as furnishing lum- 
ber for building and manufacturing purposes. Mr. Hough, in 
his Forestry Report for 1882, says: 

" In looking forward to the probabilities of future supply of timber, we can- 
not expect (unless so far as it may be derived from Canada) any assistance 
worth noticing from foreign countries, and must substantially depend upon our- 
selves for whatever we require to meet the vast and varied wants of our popu- 
lation. Although in some instances the consumption may become less, as from 
the substitution of iron in naval and civil architecture, or of mineral coal for 
fuel, we can scarcely expect that the general demand will ever decrease; but 
that it will steadily advance with our increase in wealth and numbers ; and 
that its supply must depend upon the growth within our own territory ; and, as 
the native timber is exhausted, it must in a great degree be re-reared under the 
care and protection of man." 

He lays it down as a general rule that trees will flourish in 
any region that was once covered with a forest growth, and also 
wherever grain of any kind can be cultivated without irrigation. 
In some regions trees of many kinds will flourish ; in others the 



268 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



range of species is very limited ; and to ascertain these condi- 
tions forms the main aim of forestry. He assumes that — 

"The work of practical cultivation and protection must be undertaken by 
the owners of the land ; for it is certain that no National or State Government 
or local municipality will spend its means in planting upon lands where the 
title is vested in private owners; and that no private owner will ever care for 
premises not his own. And, furthermore, that no tenant can ever be expected 
to plant lands where he is not to realize profits from the improvement; and 
that, in general, the cultivation of woodlands for a future supply implies a sta- 
bility of ownership and a faith in the certainty of returns, which, although it 
may not be inviting to speculation, is still a positive and easily-computed addi- 
tion to the wealth of the owner, reasonably sure in realization and profitable in 
amount. And that, with due forethought and intelligent care, there is no culti- 
vation that better repays the attention bestowed upon it than that of forest- 
trees." 

Government, whether National or State, has the right, which 
it should exercise, of imposing restrictions upon the undue de- 
struction of timber growing on the land which it retains, and 
upon any that it may hereafter sell or grant to individuals or 
corporations. How much timber land yet remains in the pos- 
session of the National Government is wholly unascertained. 
Upon this point Mr. Hough says : 

"Within the present limits of the original States the General Government 
has never owned lands, excepting in very limited areas and for certain specified 
uses. The public lands once belonging to or still owned by the General Gov- 
ernment, acquired by cession, conquest, or purchase, originally amounted to 
about 2,835,606 square miles, of which (in 1882) a little over 40 per cent, have 
been surveyed. More than one-third of the unsurveyed part is in Alaska, and 
much the greater part of the remainder is among the mountains of the Territo- 
ries. The amount of forest land, surveyed and unsurveyed, cannot be stated 
from any information within our knowledge ; but it must be quite considerable, 
although much of it is remote from lines of transportation and unavailable for 
present use." 

Mr. F. B. Baker, who was appointed " to investigate and re- 
port upon the forestry and forestry necessities of the States and 
Territories of the Mississippi Valley and east of the Rocky 
Mountains, presented, at the close of 1882, a Preliminary Report 
concerning this region, which embraces the States of Minnesota, 
Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, a 



AMERICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY. 



269 



portion of Colorado, and portions of the Territories of Dakota, 
Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona, and the Indian Territory. 
Of this vast region he says : 

" The States of Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana are largely covered with 
native forests ; and Arkansas, in particular, stands in need of facilities for bring- 
ing her lumber to market ; and the day cannot be far distant when the cypress 
of Arkansas will be as well known as the pine of Michigan and Wisconsin." 

The cypress of Arkansas has, indeed, come to be well known 
in domestic and foreign markets ; but the latest statistics make 
it more than probable that the white pine of Michigan, Wiscon- 
sin, and other States will soon become a product of the past. 
Mr. Charles S. Sargent, the special agent in charge of the For- 
estry Statistics of the United States Census, says : " The entire 
supply of white pine growing in the United States, and ready 
for the axe, does not to-day (1882) greatly, if at all, exceed 
80,000,000,000 feet ; and this estimate includes small and infe- 
rior trees which a few years ago would not have been considered 
worth counting. The annual production of this lumber is not 
far from 10,000,000,000 feet, and the demand is constantly and 
rapidly increasing." At this rate of consumption the white pine 
of the United States would last just ten years, even supposing 
that there should be no increase in the consumption. But the 
quantity of pine lumber brought to market in 1882 was much 
greater than in any previous year, and unless this consumption 
falls off, the noble white pine will not find place in the Census 
Report of 1890. Mr. Sargent thus graphically sums up the ex- 
isting condition of the white-pine forests of the United States: 

" Fatal inroads have already been made into the great pine forests of the 
North Atlantic region. Its wealth has been lavished with an unsparing hand; 
it has been wantonly and stupidly cut, as if its resources were endless. What 
has not been sacrificed to the axe has been allowed to perish by fire. The 
pine of New England and New York has already disappeared. Pennsylvania 
is nearly stripped of her pine, which only a few years ago appeared inexhaust- 
ible. The great North-western pine States — Michigan, Wisconsin, and Min- 
nesota — can show only a few scattered remnants of the noble forests to which 
they owe their greatest prosperity, and which not even self-interest has saved 
from needless destruction." 



270 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Nowhere, excepting in Maine, do we find any mention of 
white pine of second growth which has attained a size for mar- 
ketable lumber ; and a generation must, in any case, elapse be- 
fore, with the wisest endeavors, any great addition can be made 
to the sources of supply of this timber. There is no other 
which can, to any extent, take its place, if we except the nar- 
row belt of red-wood timber along the California coast. The 
yellow pine of the South is a very different tree, admirable for 
some uses, but only available to a few of those for which the 
white pine is specially adapted. It is a hard, resinous wood, of 
about the same weight as the white oak, or nearly twice as heavy 
as the white pine or spruce. We have been accustomed to look 
upon the supply of yellow pine as inexhaustible ; but we are as 
far wide of the truth in respect to the yellow pine as we have 
been in respect to the white pine. Mr. William Little, of Mont- 
real, the best Canadian authority upon the timber question, puts 
the matter in a form well worthy of our consideration. He 
says: 

"When people talk, as they sometimes do, of the inexhaustible forests of 
the South, they know little of the sawing capacity of the Northern mills, which 
could, in twelve months, convert the whole merchantable pine of the States of 
Georgia or Alabama into lumber, and be but six months in using up that of 
Florida or either of the Carolinas." 

There is, undoubtedly, something of over-statement in this. 
Six months or a year would make very little apparent inroad upon 
the timber forests of the South. But the felling of these forests 
is increasing with unexampled rapidity under the growing de- 
mand for timber, not only for home use, but from abroad. For- 
eign capitalists are turning their attention in this direction. 
Hardly a week passes in which we do not hear of large purchases 
being made of timber lands in the South by Europeans, with the 
express and sole view of lumbering. American enterprise and 
capital is nowise behind in the race ; and unless some check be 
placed upon this tendency, the South will, in a score of years, be 
as thoroughly stripped of its yellow pine and cypress as the 
North and West have been of their white pine. 

But we return to Mr. Baker's " Preliminary Report on the 



AMERICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY. 



271 



Forestry and Forestry Necessities of the Mississippi Valley," 
condensing some of his most important statements : Outside 
of the wooded States of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri 
there remains an empire to which the subject of forestry is at 
this moment a vital one. In Minnesota the belt of forest is 
comparatively narrow ; but when the first settlement of the 
region began, the north half was covered with white pine, and 
south and west of this was a large body of hard-woods of various 
species. " Of the total forest of the State, fully one-half has dis- 
appeared. The area of the State is about 54,000,000 acres, and 
only about 4,000,000 acres of hard-wood remain. The first set- 
tlers of Iowa found a considerable amount of timber on the 
banks of the Mississippi and its principal tributaries. This 
they proceeded to use after the manner of the American pio- 
neer, particularly when he encounters timber on the Govern- 
ment lands. Nature has since been repairing damages ; but 
native timber has long since ceased to be a matter of reliance." 
Nebraska, when opened for settlement, was almost entirely des- 
titute of timber. " The Omaha land district, of 2,560,000 acres, 
comprised the most heavily- timbered district of the State, but 
the original plats showed but 75,000 acres of timber." 

Kansas was originally somewhat less sparsely timbered than 
Nebraska. But Pike, who explored this region in 1806, "doubt- 
ed if, beyond the first hundred miles from the present border of 
Missouri, the country could be settled on account of the absence 
of wood." But some fairly-timbered districts were subsequently 
discovered in various sections ; and now, " after all the ravages 
of twenty years, the amount of timber in the State is estimated 
at 2,560,000 acres, or 4.92 per cent, of the whole area. Colo- 
rado, at the time of the discovery of its mines, twenty years ago, 
had a great body of pine, spruce, fir, and other trees covering 
its mountain sides. " In 1870 it was estimated that one-third, 
or possibly one -half, of the trees in the settled portions of the 
then Territory had been destroyed by fire and ceaseless slash- 
ing. Since that period railroads have penetrated the country, 
and have added to the destruction by consuming millions of 
ties. The original forest lands of Colorado are now being con- 



272 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



verted into deserts." This last statement of Mr. Baker deserves 
special attention, and fully corroborates the representations 
made in a previous chapter of this volume. 

The immense regions comprised in the present Territories 
of the United States present some striking features of their 
own. Dakota, according to Mr. Baker, " is a prairie country, 
resembling in its general characteristics the adjoining portions 
of Nebraska and Minnesota." It is therefore a region in which 
tree -planting is especially indispensable and practicable. Wyo- 
ming " is a country of high plains and lofty mountains. In 1873 
it was estimated that there were 2,000,000 acres of timber in 
North-western Wyoming. The business of cutting off timber 
for railroad ties has been going on for many years, the con- 
sumption being estimated at 500,000 ties per annum. Charcoal- 
burning and the demand for mining purposes have also dimin- 
ished the native timber. The elevation of the country renders 
it liable to frost every month in the year except July, which en- 
hances the difficulties here surrounding artificial forestry." The 
mountains of Montana were originally clothed with extensive 
forests of pine, cedar, and the like ; but these forests have been 
ravaged by fire, and " it has been noticed that where the timber 
is once destroyed on these mountains it is not followed by a sec- 
ond growth." This last condition, which occurs elsewhere so 
frequently, and in accordance with no law as yet formulated, 
demands investigation. Why is it that in some cases — as the 
white pine of Maine — a second growth of the same species fol- 
lows the cutting off of the original growth, while in other cases 
the second growth is entirely different, and in others there is 
no second growth at all ? Idaho presents great contrasts of sur- 
face and vegetation. " The finest body of red-cedar on the con- 
tinent exists in this Territory; and, on the other hand, there are 
16,000,000 acres of sage-brush lands, which are, however, for the 
most part susceptible of irrigation, and so offer a field for tree 
cultivation." The general aspect of what may be styled the 
treeless region, lying west of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, 
and the Indian Territory, and stretching to the Rocky Moun- 
tains and beyond in the south, is thus summed up by Mr. Baker : 



AMERICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY. 273 



"Going west from the Mississippi the Missouri is encountered, lined with 
forests for the lower two hundred miles of its course ; above that running 
through a comparatively deforested region. At the Missouri begins the ascent 
to the Rocky Mountains, the great field for the exercise of all that man has 
learned or can acquire of the science of forestry. This region, as the elevation 
increases, becomes more bare, and, to the eye accustomed to mountains and 
forests, desolate. The forest keeps up a gallant struggle along the streams 
which flow eastward to the Mississippi and Missouri— the Platte, the Kaw, and 
the Kansas — but finally disappears to a thin, winding, fringe of cotton-wood or 
willows ; and for hundreds of miles the eye sees no more till the pine-covered 
slopes of the Rocky Mountains appear dimly on the horizon. 

" The traveller coming within sight of the mountains, and then turning 
southward, comes to New Mexico, with its mountains ofttimes bare to their 
very summits, and at other times covered with pinon and pines. Its wide 
plains, watered by inconstant, treeless streams and occasional ponds or lakes, 
are traversed by but one stream of magnitude — the red, turbid Rio Grande- 
its banks destitute of trees or verdure, save where the patient Mexican has dug 
his aceqiria, or irrigating ditch. Then to the westward lies Arizona, a country 
of mountains, bearing everywhere the traces of volcanic action — extinct craters, 
lava-beds, and the veritable sandy desert. As the border of Mexico is ap- 
proached, the barrenness increases. Nothing relieves it save where man has 
overcome it by irrigation. The Mexican does not rely upon trees for his fuel, 
but digs up the heavy, branching roots of the mesquite. If the traveller, when 
within sight of Pike's Peak, turns northward instead of southward, and keeps 
his course parallel with the mountains, his way will lead him over the high 
plains, better watered and less desolate than those of New Mexico, but equally 
destitute of trees." 

In 1875 it was estimated that only 4.1 per cent, of the area 
of California was forest land. But the distribution is very un- 
equal. Estimates are given for 45 of the 50 counties. In seven 
counties the ratio of forest to area was more than 20 per cent. ; 
in five it was between 10 and 20; in eleven between 4 and 10; 
in nine it was less than 1 per cent. The most important native 
timber tree of California is the red-wood, which occurs in forests 
of greater or less extent. Of this tree Mr. Hough says, in his 
Forestry Report for 1882: 

" These grand supplies of timber are now undergoing a rapid waste, and the 
lumbering operations have been carried on in the most reckless and improvident 
manner. The forests have been plundered and destroyed, with scarcely a 
semblance of restraint, until the time can be foreseen when they will be ex- 
hausted altogether, and we shall be left wholly destitute of those inestimable 



274 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



resources which, under judicious management, might be maintained for a long 
period, affording, besides their due supply of timber to the country, a substantial 
income to the treasury. 

" The natural limits of the red-wood are relatively of small extent, not reach- 
ing far inland, and being limited to the western slope of the Coast Range, with- 
in the State of California; and although it may be propagated elsewhere, it 
never presents such vigor of growth and such wonderful development as among 
the fogs and in the humid atmosphere of the Pacific coast. Considerable por- 
tions of these native forests have come to full maturity, and the quality of the 
timber thus matured will not improve in the future, nor its quantity increase. 
It is quite proper that such timber should be used when at its greatest value, 
and that the Government and the country should derive the greatest possible 
benefit from this use ; but there are other portions which are now gaining in 
value, and would continue to do so for many years to come, if suitable regula- 
tions for their protection were devised and stringently enforced. The red-wood 
shows an unusual tendency to reproduction ; and there are large areas, from 
which the timber has been cut away, and which are now lying waste, in which 
every condition favorable to new plantation exists, as we have evidence in the 
growths but recently taken from them. We cannot but regard these localities 
as peculiarly valuable for timber culture, and this still more from the fact 
that, from their broken surface, they are worth little for any other use." 

Within a year or two the red-wood has come into special 
favor as an ornamental wood, and the demand for it for this 
purpose has greatly increased in this country and in Europe. 
As a consequence, the felling of it has assumed greatly aug- 
mented proportions, and under circumstances which threaten 
the rapid extinction of this invaluable forest-tree. As these pages 
are being written we find the announcement that a " Red-wood 
Lumbering Company " has been organized in Scotland, with a 
capital of $4,500,000, which has purchased from 50,000 to 70,000 
acres of red-wood forest, mostly in Humboldt County, for which 
(including lumbering machinery, etc.) $1,500,000 was paid. Such 
a foreign company can have but one object in view: that of 
realizing the most money in the shortest time. This can be 
done by denuding their purchase — a third of the county — of 
its red-wood forests, as quickly as possible ; for there is a pres- 
ent demand for all of this lumber which can be brought to 
market. 

If the land belonged to private owners, there might be no 
way to prevent this impending devastation ; but most of the 



AMERICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY. 



275 



red-wood lands still belong to the Government, as do, indeed, a 
considerable part of all the remaining forest lands in the 
Union; and in respect to all these the recommendation of 
Mr. Hough cannot be too strongly urged: 

" We do not hesitate," he says, " to recommend that not only the red-wood 
forests, but also the land, still belonging to the Government, from which these 
forests have been destroyed, should be set apart for forest culture and manage- 
ment, under such regulations as, upon careful inquiry, should be deemed proper, 
and as experience may suggest ; and these plans, with reference to the red-wood 
forests of California, may be applied with equal reason to other great bodies of 
timber still belonging to the Government, upon the Pacific coast and elsewhere. 
In whatever plan it might be thought proper to adopt, the main object should 
be to secure the greatest possible benefit to the country at the least expense, 
and for the longest period of time." 

The general outlines of a comprehensive plan to prevent 
the destruction of timber upon the forest lands still in the 
possession of the Government may be easily laid down. The 
first thing to be done is to have an accurate survey made of 
all these lands, so that the precise nature of every square mile 
shall be ascertained. Then all large bodies of timbered land 
should be withdrawn from sale or grant, and placed under 
regulations calculated to secure an economical use of the 
present timber. When it becomes advisable to permit the 
timber to be felled in any locality, the right to do this should 
be put up at public auction, the Government retaining the 
title to the land and all the young timber growing upon it, 
which should be reserved and protected for future supply. The 
privilege of cutting timber should be by lease for a specified 
short term — yearly perhaps — with the right of renewal upon 
specified conditions. There should be no renewal unless all 
the conditions of the former lease had been complied with ; 
and the Government should have the right to terminate the 
lease at any time, for sufficient cause. The condition of all 
these woodlands should be inspected at frequent intervals, pre- 
cisely as with all other public property, or as a merchant or 
manufacturer regularly takes an account of stock: for every 
tree has its value. The cardinal principle to be always kept 



276 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



in view, is that — ■ except in special cases, where the land would 
be decidedly more valuable for other uses — our present Na- 
tional forest lands should be reserved for this sole purpose ; the 
growth being kept up where it is now ample, and restored 
where it has been reduced ; and also tracts now treeless should 
be planted and preserved, wherever economically possible. 

Most of the forest land owned by the Government has com- 
paratively little value for other purposes, but much of it is in- 
valuable for this. How far and in what manner Government, 
whether National or State, can foster tree- culture by private 
individuals, by offering premiums for tree-planting, or remitting 
taxes upon woodlands for a specified time, or in other ways, is a 
matter to be considered separately. The great thing of present 
concern is to conserve the national forests. 

It may be hoped that the granting of extensive tracts of land 
to railroads or other corporations will be discontinued. What- 
ever necessity may once have existed for this has come to an 
end. Above all things, not an acre of forest land should ever 
be allowed to pass into the hands of foreign corporations. A 
railroad has a permanent interest in the future prosperity of the 
country through which it passes, for the amount of its income is 
mainly dependent upon the productions of the region near its 
line. A foreign lumbering corporation has no such interest. 
Its sole object is present and immediate profit from the trees 
now growing, and the sooner that is secured the better for it, 
no matter how much future generations may suffer from its 
greed. 

We have dwelt upon the question of forests and forestry 
under its various aspects, and with much detail, in the full per- 
suasion that it is the important question of the day — the one 
upon which hangs the most momentous issues which are press- 
ing upon us. We are fully convinced that unless the matters 
involved are wisely settled by the present generation, we shall 
have entered upon that downward path which so many other 
nations have trodden before us. 

From the sketch in a preceding chapter, of the thorough 
training given in the great German Schools of Forestry, some 



AMERICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY. 



277 



idea may be gained of the kind and degree of knowledge which 
is there called into requisition in this profession as yet almost 
unknown among us. We need all this and far more, for the 
field in which it is to be exercised is immeasurably wider. We 
need men who shall be to our forest interests what thorough 
farmers and mineralogists and engineers are to the industries 
in which they minister. The want is beginning to be felt, and 
will be supplied. Shall it be supplied from abroad, or from the 
ranks of the young men of our country who are on the lookout 
for opportunities in life ? Mr. Hough says, almost doubtingly : 
,k We are convinced that among those educated in European 
schools of forestry, many persons could be found in every way 
qualified for these duties ; and, should occasion arise for their 
employment, that they could be had, upon the assurance of a 
permanence of position and reasonable pay." We are firmly 
convinced that the occasion has already arisen for this employ- 
ment, and that it is one which presents inducements worthy 
of the highest ambition, opening a wide field for science and 
skill, and promising ample reward to those who are willing to 
seek it. 



278 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



THE PROFESSIONS. 



UT of the 17,392,099 persons in the United States en- 



V_>/ g a g e d in all industrial pursuits, the Census classes 
4,074,238 as occupied in " Professional and Personal Ser- 
vices." The list, as thus made out, is a rather curious one. 
The following is the number of persons engaged in each oc- 
cupation ; but in this chapter we shall speak only of those 
printed in italic letters, these being the avocations most com- 
monly designated as "professions," in distinction from other 
callings in life : 

Actors, 4,812. Artists and Art Teachers, 9104. Barbers and Hair-dressers, 
44,851. Boarding and Lodging-house Keepers, 19,058. Clergymen, 64,698. 
Clerks and Copyists, 25,467. Dentists, 12,314. Domestic Servants, 1,075,655. 
Engineers (Civil), 8,261. Hotel and Restaurant Keepers, 45,527. Journalists, 
12,308. Laborers, 1,859,223. Launderers, 121,942. Lawyers, 64,137. Livery- 
stable Keepers, 14,213. Musicians and Music -teachers, 30,477. Officers of 
United States Army and Navy, 2,600. Officials of Government, 67,081. Phy- 
sicians and Surgeons, 85,681. Teachers, 227,710. Watchmen, 13,384. Others in 
Professional Services, 270,547. 

All the " professions," as commonly considered, number only 
498,927 members, of whom more than half are teachers. The 
labor which they perform is chiefly mental, and it is presumed 
that this labor demands for its successful exercise the highest 
native capacities, and a longer and more severe training than is 
requisite for other avocations ; and that these professions afford 
the highest rewards for capacity, industry, and energy. Un- 
doubtedly this was in former times the case. Through the 
learned professions and through that of arms lay the chief 




THE PROFESSIONS. 



279 



avenues of advancement ; and they did engross the best tal- 
ent of the day, and paid better, in wealth and honor, than 
other avocations. The eyes of the aspiring were turned almost 
wholly to one or other of these professions. The case is very 
much altered in our days, and those who are watching for op- 
portunities for a successful career should look about them with 
the eyes of the present rather than of the past. An occupation 
which was advisable at some former time may be an undesirable 
one now. 

Some of the professions — as that of the artist and the musi- 
cian — demand genius of a special character, without the posses- 
sion of which no industry will command success. If a man has 
that special genius he will most likely follow its bent, almost 
regardless whether his chosen path leads to poverty or riches. 
To give advice to such persons does not come within the scope 
of this volume. 

The Clerical Profession, in theory, at least, stands apart 
from all others in this respect. It is held that no one can 
rightly enter upon its functions unless he have a strong, in- 
ward call thereto. In most religious bodies the aspirant for the 
sacred office must not only aver that he believes himself to have 
such a call, but must also convince the proper ecclesiastical au- 
thorities that his persuasion is well founded. In any case it is 
to be desired that the young man who proposes to enter the 
ministry should have a clear view of what he may fairly expect 
to lie before him. 

At the very outset there is one strong inducement. The 
pathway to entering the profession has been carefully smoothed 
and levelled. Schools and seminaries have been provided and 
so endowed that he can practically be educated without cost to 
himself. And then, again, he may be quite sure, if he completes 
his course with even tolerable credit, that a place will be stand- 
ing open for him. But, on the other hand, he may be quite as 
certain that his path in life will lead to no marked pecuniary ad- 
vantage. Only in very exceptional cases is the salary of a clergy- 
man a large one ; not unfrequently it is meagre. No clergyman 
can expect to become rich by the mere exercise of his profession ; 



280 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



but he may reasonably expect a comfortable maintenance from 
it ; and, moreover, the very fact of his being a clergyman gives 
him an honorable place among men. It is sometimes urged 
that the clerical profession is overcrowded : that there are more 
clergymen than are required to fulfil the functions of the office. 
In one sense this is certainly not true. There is far more 
Christian work to be done than can be performed by the sixty 
and odd thousand pastors now in the field. But the salaries of 
clergymen, as a rule, are certainly low. This, however, is owing 
to causes quite apart from the usual laws of supply and demand, 
which hold good in most other cases. It is said that if the 
salaries of all the clergy of all denominations were equalized, 
there would not be more than $500 for each ; and the proportion 
of high salaries is not large. Surveying the matter in its mere 
pecuniary aspect, it may be said that the minister must look 
upon his profession as one which will probably involve no little 
self-sacrifice. It may be his duty to make that sacrifice, if need 
be, but it by no means follows that the churches should call 
upon him to make it. 

We hear much idle talk of the " decline of the pulpit " and 
the " waning power of the churches but the truth is that the 
visible institutions of Christianity are now, as they have always 
been, an important factor in our American civilization. With- 
out them we should never have become what we are; and de- 
prived of them we should speedily become lamentably different 
from what we are. We believe that never was the Christian 
Church, and the pulpit, as its most prominent exponent, a great- 
er power among us than it is to-day. Every man who calls 
himself a Christian, by that very act acknowledges it to be his 
bounden duty to labor for the weal of the church of which he 
is a member. It may not be his duty to seek the office of the 
ministry — in the great majority of cases it will not be ; but he is 
none the less held to sustain those who, as he believes, are called 
to do this. How much of his means shall be thus sacredly 
devoted — x\.o\. given as alms or charity — to this purpose, cannot 
be settled by any universal rule. But the man who devotes less 
to this purpose than was prescribed by divine law to the ancient 



THE PROFESSIONS. 



281 



Hebrews, may be well assured that he falls short of fulfilling his 
self - acknowledged obligation to his Heavenly Master. Very 
many should do much more ; and there is little reason to ap- 
prehend that too much will in any case be thus set apart. And 
this duty is an ever-present one. The man who has been nig- 
gard in this respect all his life long, makes small amends by 
leaving bequests, however large, to be paid after his death. It 
is a duty to be performed personally, not a mere debt which 
may be discharged vicariously. 

In many respects the profession of the Teacher resembles 
that of the clergyman ; but there is this important difference : 
the clergyman enters upon his profession as a life - long work ; 
the teacher very often takes it up as a temporary occupation, 
to be abandoned when something better presents itself, or as a 
means of support while preparing himself for other work. This 
is still to a very large extent the case with teachers in our public 
schools ; becoming less so, as our system of public education 
becomes developed and improved. 

There'are many more persons occupied as teachers than are 
classed as such in the Census Report of " Occupations." This 
professes to include professors in colleges and regular in- 
structors in private schools, as well as public - school teachers ; 
and in all the number is set down at 227,710. But in the special 
enumeration of our common schools, alone, 236,019 persons are 
reported as being engaged as teachers in these schools, of all 
grades. Of the public - school teachers 106,099 were males and 
129,400 females ; and of these 15,834 were colored. There were 
in all 225,880 public schools; of these 5430 are described as 
being " high-schools, or having high-school departments." The 
number of public - school buildings was 164,832, having, in all, 
sittings for 8,968,731 pupils. The average salary paid to the 
teachers was $236 per year; but the schools are kept open, 
upon an average, only a little more than six months of the 
year. 

Table XXIII. gives for each State the number of public 
schools, the value of the school property, the entire expenditures, 
the total amount paid for the salaries of teachers, and the aver- 

16 



282 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



age monthly salary while employed. It also gives the percent- 
age of "illiteracy" in the several States. By illiterates are here 
designated all persons, of more than ten years of age, who are 
returned as " unable to read." The proportion of these to the 
whole population above the age of ten is 13.4 per cent, their 
number being 4,923,451. But many who are able to read are 
unable to write; the number of these being 6,239,958, or 17 per 
cent, of the population above the age of ten. The ratio of il- 
literacy is much the greatest among the colored population. 
The whites of native birth who are unable to write form 8.7 per 
cent, of all ; those of foreign birth, 1 2 per cent, of all. 

The statements embodied in this table, however, afford only 
a partial view of the pecuniary side of the profession of a 
teacher in our public schools. The average $36.21 per month 
includes all teachers of every age and grade of skill and ability. 
In not a few even of the elementary schools, however, are high 
talents brought into exercise and good salaries received. In 
each of the more than 5000 " high-schools " are several teachers 
employed, whose positions and salaries are in every respect de- 
sirable. In addition to these are college professorships, still 
more desirable. 

Still, our public -school system, taken as a whole, is not so 
organized and administered as to afford adequate inducements 
for choosing the profession of a teacher. In the lamentable lack 
of even tolerably remunerative occupations for women, this is 
better than many — perhaps better than most — now presented ; 
and there are in many localities more applicants for such posi- 
tions than there are positions to be filled. Unfortunately, also, 
in too many cases the administration of our public schools has 
become a part of the machinery of party politics. Many school 
commissioners have political friends to reward, or political ene- 
mies to punish; hence teacherships are not unfrequently be- 
stowed for reasons with which fitness for the place has little 
to do. 

For young men the profession of a public-school teacher as 
yet offers scanty inducements as a permanent occupation. Of 
itself, it leads to nothing; and a man who can do even fairly 



THE PROFESSIONS. * 283 



TABLE XXIIL— COMMON-SCHOOL STATISTICS: 1880. 



States. 


Value of 
School Prop- 
erty. 


lUlal -EjA p. 

for 
Schools. 


Teachers' 
Salaries. 


Monthly 
Salary. 


Total of 
Pupils. 


Daily At- 
tendance. 


Schools. 


Illiteracy. 




Dollars. 


Dollars. 


Dollars. 


Dollctrs. 


Number. 


Average. 


"Kfnvri hpy 
±1 ibiiiu&r . 


Per Cent. 


A 1 q Kama 


299 599 


430 131 


388 1 28 


21.66 


] 87 550 


123,366 


4 629 


43.5 


A 1.1 7f\r\ 

111 I £i\J LLCX • • • • 


113 074 


61 172 


56 744 


76.54 


4 212 


3,213 


1 01 

lUi 


16.7 


Arkansas. 


237^302 


382 637 


331 750 


37.62 


108,236 


65,619 


2 678 


28.8 


California, 


6,949,983 


3 031 014 


2 271 219 


76.99 


161,477 


106,179 


3 446 


7.1 


Colorado 


710 503 


400,205 


190 839 


57.97 


22,804 


13,807 


it 


5.9 


Connecticut . 


3,454'275 


1 335,234 


986,989 


40.36 


118,529 


72^725 


2 601 


4.2 


Dakota 


'214'760 


183,257 


81,311 


31.31 


13,718 


8,530 


508 


3.1 


Delaware. 


440,788 


172 455 


110,931 


27.99 


26,412 


17,439 


519 


15.3 


Dist.of Col.. 


1,206,355 


438,537 


287 872 


67.74 


26 439 


20 637 


415 


15.7 


Florida .... 


134^384 


117,724 


99'l77 


25.50 


43,304 


31,477 


1 135 


38.0 


Georgia .... 


l,046'o26 


653,464 


616,096 


30.26 


237,124 


151,759 


5 939 


42.8 


Idaho 


' 3l'oOO 


38,411 


33,421 


54.73 


5,834 


3,863 


128 


5.5 


Illinois .... 


15,876,572 


7,536,682 


4,587^046 


38.78 


704,041 


431,643 


15 203 


4.3 


Indiana 


11,907,541 


4 504 407 


3 175 275 


38.90 


512 201 


320,577 


11 623 


4.8 


Iowa 


9,460,775 


4,347,119 


2,907,446 


30.59 


425 665 


260'813 


12 635 


2.4 


Kansas 


4^723'043 


1,819,561 


1,101,211 


27.56 


246 128 


144,343 


6 148 


3.6 


Kentucky 


2^143,013 


1 162,944 


1 025,659 


26.00 


292 427 


192 331 


7 392 


22.2 


Louisiana . . 


752,903 


455,758 


'373,'081 


40.02 


81^012 


55,'808 


1 669 


45.8 


Maine 


3,027,602 


991,297 


777^692 


28.20 


150,811 


106',763 


4 736 


3.5 


Maryland 


2 083,013 


1,395 284 


1,117,145 


42.19 


149,981 


85,449 


2 551 


16.0 


Mass 


21 660 392 


4 720 951 


3 906,516 


58.49 


316,630 


235,664 


6 604 


5.3 


Michigan . 


8 982 344 


3 112 468 


1 920 618 


29.05 


362,459 


263 775 


8 608 


3.8 


Minnesota . 


3 460 458 


1 622 919 


956,571 


33.84 


186,544 


103'378 


4 784 


3.7 


Mississippi 


553 610 


679 475 


653 351 


29.10 


237,065 


156^824 


5 166 


41.9 


Missouri 


7 810.924 


3 092 332 


2 261 058 


36.33 


486 002 


260,540 


10 329 


8.9 


Montana T. . 


132 507 


68.202 


53 785 


63.21 


4,667 


2 986 


159 


4.8 


Nebraska . 


9 061 O^Q 


1 079 666 


565 651 


31.38 


100 871 


62 510 


3 286 


2.5 


Nevada 


282 870 


212 164 


131,019 


89.45 


8,918 


5,385 


185 


7.3 


1S T . H 


2 328 796 


568 103 


415 777 


28.12 


64 670 


48,943 


2 552 


4.2 


N J 


6 298 500 


2 039,938 


1 391 550 


41.42 


205 240 


116 360 


3 241 


4.5 


New Mex. T. 


13 500 


28 973 


28 002 


30.67 


4 755 


3 150 


162 


60 2 


New York . 


81 235 401 


9 936 662 


7 438,277 


40.71 


1,027,938 


551,958 


18 615 


4.2 


N C 


248 015 


383,709 


328,717 


21.27 


256,422 


164 570 


6 161 


38.3 


Ohio 


21 643 515 


7 707 630 


4 972 541 


37.79 


752,442 


495 924 


16 473 


3.6 


Oregon 


249 087 


316 885 


212 348 


38.63 


37 437 


26 563 


1 068 


4.1 




25,919,397 


7,306',692 


4,504,'802 


33.52 


950^300 


622'351 


18^616 


4.6 


R. I 


1,895,877 


530,167 


401,738 


48.25 


42,489 


27,453 


850 


7.9 


S. C 


407,256 


367,259 


308,230 


25.21 


134,842 


99,070 


3,077 


48.2 


Tennessee . . 


1,025,858 


786,088 


634,587 


28.45 


291,500 


205,081 


5,688 


27.7 


Texas 


130,762 


782,735 


713,908 


28.01 


176,245 


123,473 


6,692 


24.1 


Utah 


372,273 


170,887 


130,187 


42.48 


25,792 


17,513 


383 


5.0 


Vermont . . . 


1,427,547 


452,693 


361,039 


21.81 


73,237 


47,206 


2,597 


4.9 


Virginia . . . 


1,246,283 


889,862 


716,153 


26.63 


220,783 


129,006 


4,876 


34.0 


Wash. Ter. . 


161,309 


112,615 


95,582 


35.97 


14,780 


10,546 


531 


5.7 


W. Va 


1,686,999 


720,967 


527,099 


27.61 


143,796 


92,132 


3,874 


12.1 


Wisconsin. . 


5,287,570 


2,163,845 


1,570,997 


29.96 


299,514 


185,276 


6,588 


4.0 


Wyoming T. 


40,500 


28,504 


25,894 


60.23 


2,907 


1,920 


55 


2.6 


Totals 


211,411,540 


79,339,814 


55,745,029 


36.21 


9,946,160 


6,276,398 


225,880 


13.4 



well in it, may almost certainly do much better elsewhere. Its 
demands upon the vital energies are more continuously exhaust- 
ing than are those of any other profession. The zealous public- 
school teacher must always work under high mental tension. 
The clergyman may pause in the writing of his sermon, and re- 
fresh himself by exercise or repose before resuming his pen; 



284 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



the over -wearied lawyer may leave his office or shut out his 
clients when he will, and is not constrained to work when he is 
not in working trim; but the public -school teacher must work 
straight on during school-hours, and usually those hours are al- 
together too long, for he has' much work to do when his pupils 
have been dismissed for the day. And, moreover, his work is 
almost always to be done in a closely-packed and ill-ventilated 
room. A properly ventilated school-room, even in our best ap- 
pointed schools, is an exception to the general rule. 

The teacher has nominally his " vacation ;" but the chances 
are that his salary is not sufficient to enable him to spend this 
in such a way as to derive much benefit from the intermission 
in school work. He, of all men, needs relaxation — not merely 
relaxation for a few days or weeks once a year, but daily relaxa- 
tion, and the amenities of social life. All this applies with still 
greater force to the female teacher, for her more delicately- 
wrought system still more urgently demands that relaxation 
which her yet more meagre salary renders still less attainable 
to her. 

Nothing can be worse economy than this under-payment to 
teachers in our public schools. Next to the family stands the 
common school, in the importance of its influence upon the train- 
ing of the young. A good school may, indeed, do much towards 
mitigating the evils of a faulty home, while a bad school will do 
much to thwart the salutary influence of the best home ; and 
without a good teacher there can be no good school. 

The State is in a wide sense the guardian of all its children. 
But the State can only, in exceptional cases, interfere with home 
arrangements. Unless the parents are grossly and notoriously 
unfit, the State must leave their children under their own unre- 
stricted control. For this there is perhaps no remedy. The 
State cannot see to it that there shall be no unfit parents; but 
it can and should see to it that there are no unfit teachers — 
none who are unfit for the office by reason either of want of 
character, or by want of capacity and attainments. And, except 
in the rarest instances, good teachers cannot be had without 
paying them a proper salary. It is sometimes said that public- 




MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE CATHEDRAL, SEVILLE. 
See Note 18. 



THE PROFESSIONS. 



287 



school teachers get all they are worth. This we do not hold 
to be true. But, if it were true, so much greater would be the 
urgency that teachers should be made worthy of far better pay- 
ment than they usually receive, and should receive all they are 
worth. Public schools should attract to themselves not a little 
of the best talent of the community. 

For high success as a teacher, capacities are required fully 
equal to those demanded in either of the other professions. 
The teacher must, of course, be master of the science which 
he proposes to impart; and, as all sciences are progressive, he 
must keep fully up with the general movement. The instructor 
who should to-day undertake to teach any one of the sciences as 
he learned it while a student, would soon find himself the laugh- 
ing-stock of his pupils. The successful teacher must be a dili- 
gent student ; and so interwoven are all branches of knowledge, 
that it is not enough for him to be thoroughly conversant with 
the one which it is his special province to teach. He must be 
a well-read man; and the wider the circle of his reading, so 
much the better in many respects. The teacher must, also, not 
only have mastered the subjects upon which he is to give in- 
struction, but he must diligently cultivate the art of imparting 
that knowledge. He must be able to inspire his pupils with a 
love for their studies ; and he cannot do this unless he himself 
loves them. 

The teacher is not merely an instructor, but he is also a law- 
giver and a judge. He not only makes laws for his pupils, but 
he is also the sole tribunal for trying offenders. But, though in 
a sense an absolute sovereign, he is also an elective one. If his 
subjects cannot depose him, they can leave his dominion at will. 
He can, therefore, permanently hold his place as law-giver only 
by making just and wise laws, and by administering them justly 
and wisely. Still further, he is not only a law-giver, but he is 
the executive who enforces his laws. He must, therefore, have 
the power of command ; and that man is the best commander 
whose orders are so given that they, as it were, enforce them- 
selves — the man in regard to whom " to hear is to obey." Lack- 
ing this inherent or acquired power of command, the teacher 



288 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



lacks — whatever else he may have — one of the prime requisites 
for his profession. He may, perhaps, become a successful doc- 
tor or lawyer or clergyman, but not a successful teacher. 

The Medical Profession is, in every respect, one worthy of 
the utmost consideration. Its highest rewards are very high, 
and its demands are proportionally exacting; but they are of a 
sober kind. Men may be urged by a strong, inward impulse, 
born, perhaps, from the conscious possession of peculiar gifts, to 
become painters or musicians. Men may be urged by a like in- 
ward impulse, to which is superadded a belief in an immediate 
call from on high, to become clergymen. But no such special 
summons, from within or from without, conscripts a young man 
into the ranks of the healing art. No one says to himself, " I 
must be a surgeon or a physician, or I can be nothing which I 
should be." Of course he must be fond of his profession, if he 
would succeed in it. And fortunately every man likes, or comes 
to like, the doing of that which he has learned to do well. 

The young man who meditates entering the medical profes- 
sion should look well at what he is doing. In the first place, 
the preparatory steps are long. It may be assumed that he has 
already acquired a collegiate education, or something equivalent 
to it, and will therefore have reached an age at which, in most 
avocations, he can earn something — most likely can support 
himself. But the future physician has yet some years of seed- 
time before he can begin to reap his harvest ; and these are ex- 
pensive years. The theological student has instruction provided 
for him free of charge ; and, if need be, all or nearly all his ex- 
penses for living are supplied to him. The medical student has 
no such swimming-bladders provided for him. Then again, 
when he has received his diploma, and has a right to call him- 
self a doctor, he is not in the position of the divinity graduate for 
whom a pulpit of some kind is presumably waiting. The young 
doctor must find his patients, and it behooves him to look care- 
fully to the choice of a place of residence. A great city certainly 
presents the strongest apparent inducements. Where there are 
so many patients, there must be room for still other practition- 
ers. This is true. In the medical profession, as in all other 



THE PROFESSIONS. 



289 



vocations in life, there is room, and always will be room at the 
top ; and if a man has the faculty of climbing, and has won the 
first rounds of the ladder, every upward step grows easier than 
the last had been. 

Then again, medicine is eminently a progressive science. 
Each day adds something to its developments. New facts are 
always coming to light, and these often overset old theories. 
The great principles of jurisprudence are so well and clearly de- 
fined that they stand as accepted axioms. Our law is essentially 
the " common law " of England ; and that is essentially the civil 
law of the Roman empire. In divinity there are, indeed, sects 
and denominations and " schools " enough ; but within each of 
these there is little or no room for fresh research. No Christian 
teacher expects to be wiser than his Bible ; few or none expect 
to go behind or beyond the creeds, catechisms, and other sym- 
bols of their respective churches. A clergyman of thirty may 
be as profound a theologian as he will ever be. Calvin wrote 
his great " Institutes " before he had reached that age. 

But the healing art, in all its departments, is a changing one. 
Diseases, it would seem, are continually assuming new types. 
At all events, new remedies and new modes of treatment are 
continually proposed and advocated. The physician who de- 
serves to succeed must keep himself abreast with his profession. 
He must be able to decide intelligently, not only what new modes 
should be adopted, and to what extent, but — which is of quite as 
much consequence — what should not be adopted. 

The physician stands in more intimate relations to his pa- 
tients than the lawyer does to his clients, or perhaps even than 
the pastor does to his flock. To no other man, therefore, is an 
unblemished personal character more absolutely indispensable. 
There have been great and successful lawyers whose lives have 
been notoriously bad ; there have been famous authors whose 
characters were more than questionable. But no physician 
whose character is not above any taint of reproach need hope 
to attain — or, if he attains it, to retain — professional renown. 

One other requisite to success in the medical profession is 
a pleasing manner. The very presence of a physician in the 



290 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



sick-chamber should be of itself a cordial, more efficacious in 
cases not a few than any actual medicine could be. Without in 
the least disparaging the intrinsic value of medicines, it is cer- 
tain that their efficacy is greatly enhanced by the faith of the 
patient ; and the patient's faith in the prescription resolves itself 
almost wholly into faith in the prescriber. While it is by no 
means necessary that the medical attendant should profess — of 
which he can never be certain — that his treatment will inevita- 
bly effect a cure, he should at least assure himself that it is the 
best one to be adopted ; and should so deport himself as to in- 
spire his patient, and his patients friends, with a like confidence. 

To the man who has the capacity and the persistency needed 
for performing the high duties devolving upon the physician or 
surgeon, there are few avocations which hold out as high or as 
certain promises of success. Those who cannot, or will not, do 
the work belonging to the profession, will most likely fail — as 
they ought — in reaping its rewards. 

The Legal Profession is, in some aspects, more tempting 
than any other. The lawyer must, indeed, study long and hard 
before he can begin to practise, and must usually work longer 
and harder than most other men before he attains any notable 
success. One of the most alluring things pertaining to the pro- 
fession of law is that it affords the most frequent avenue to po- 
litical and civil honors and emoluments. The bench, it may be 
assumed, will almost invariably be filled from the bar. In our 
National and State legislatures the ratio of lawyers has always 
been out of all proportion to their numbers as compared with 
the whole population. This tendency is, perhaps, less noted 
than formerly; but still, if one has his eye upon public life, a 
preliminary legal training is a decided advantage. 

Indeed, a somewhat careful reading of law is worth the while 
of many who have no design to practise it as a profession. But, 
simply as a profession, it is confessedly overcrowded. There are 
too many lawyers for the amount of law business to be done ; 
and such is the nature of the most lucrative parts of this busi- 
ness, that they are likely always to be engrossed by a few prac- 
titioners. The very highest rewards in the legal profession are, 



THE PROFESSIONS. 



291 



doubtless, higher than in any other. The salary of the most ac- 
complished divine or professor, the practice of the most skilful 
physician or surgeon, falls far below the fees earned by a few 
leaders of the bar. The high prizes are higher, but the propor- 
tion of blanks is by so much the greater. We know of every 
lawyer who has notably succeeded, but we do not hear of the 
far greater number who have failed. 

The Literary Profession. — There is no State or organized 
Territory of the Union which has not ten or more periodicals ; 
and Idaho was the only one which in 1880 was without its daily 
newspaper. The whole number of periodicals was 11,314, Of 
these, 971 were published daily, 8633 weekly, 1167 monthly, and 
1 1 6 quarterly. The average issue of each daily newspaper was 
nearly 4000; of the other periodicals, about 2700; but some of 
the periodicals of all classes issued more than 100,000, so that 
the circulation of by far the greater number was necessarily 
much below the average. Of these, periodicals, 10,515 were 
printed in English, 641 in German, 49 in Scandinavian, 41 in 
French, 26 in Spanish, and the remainder in 10 other languages. 
There were 8863 periodicals devoted to news, politics, and mis- 
cellaneous reading; 284 to trade and commerce; 173 to agri- 
culture and horticulture; 114 to medicine and surgery; 248 to 
education; 553 to religious topics. The "religious" periodicals 
were issued in advocacy of the tenets of twenty-four recognized 
denominations. The Methodists had 75 ; the Roman Catholics, 
70; the Baptists, 63; the Presbyterians, 42; the Episcopalians, 
33; the Evangelicals, 27; the Lutherans, 22; the Jews, 16; the 
Congregationalists, 14; the Second Adventists, 12; and smaller 
numbers for the other sects ; while 96 were classed as " unsecta- 
rian." Rhode Island and Florida were the only States not hav- 
ing a religious periodical. 

The number of periodicals published in the several States is 
only partially determined by their respective populations. New 
York had 141 1; Illinois, 1017; Pennsylvania, 973; Ohio, 774; 
Iowa, 569; Missouri, 530 ; Indiana, 467; Michigan, 464; Massa- 
chusetts, 427; California, 361; Kansas, 347; Wisconsin, 340; 
none of the other States having as many as 300. There is a 



292 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



very marked tendency in journals to concentrate in the large 
cities. The number of journalists is given in the Census Report 
as 12,308, being only a little more than one journalist to each 
periodical. In New York there were 21 11; in Pennsylvania, 
1005; in Illinois, 937; in Massachusetts, 698; in Iowa, 516; 
and smaller numbers in other States. The number set down 
as journalists is undoubtedly much less than those more or less 
regularly engaged in furnishing matter for the periodical press, 
and who find it a profitable employment. 

Journalism, using the term in its widest sense, presents many 
opportunities for those actively engaged in other employments. 
There are many persons who make considerable additions to 
their earnings by writing more or less frequently for periodicals. 
So great is the circle of readers, and so wide are the bounds 
of their tastes and requirements, that very little written for 
periodicals which is really worth being read, fails to find a 
purchaser among the publishers and editors, who act as inter- 
mediaries between the writer and these readers. But there is 
no end of that which is written and not printed or worth print- 
ing; and much that is printed is not read or worth reading. 

A very large part of what is written and paid for is done 
by persons who have some other avocation than that of author- 
ship. Even the editors of most journals and periodicals usually 
write little themselves. Very few men or women among us are 
distinctively authors by profession ; and even in Europe it has 
been well said that " authorship is good for a staff, but not for a 
crutch." Very many persons have gained renown by writing 
books ; but the number who have gained wealth, or even com- 
petency, in this way is quite limited. Leaving out of view a few 
exceptional cases, the best books in almost every department of 
knowledge have been written by men who did not live by their 
books. They either had an inherited competence, or were regu- 
larly engaged in some gainful occupation. The Census reports 
only 1 131 "authors, lecturers, and literary persons," of whom 
811 were males, and 320 females. 

Still authorship, pursued as an incidental rather than as an 
exclusive occupation, furnishes numerous remunerative oppor- 



THE PROFESSIONS. 



293 



tunities. Many a one can write an occasional magazine sketch 
or newspaper article, which will bring a good price, when he 
could not produce enough of these to earn a comfortable liveli- 
hood. He would, in a few articles, tell about all he knew. 

If a man, like Prescott or Bancroft or Motley, have a com- 
petence to start with, or if, like Emerson or Longfellow or Bry- 
ant, he have an assured profession to rest upon, he may well 
devote his leisure — ■ and the busiest man has more leisure than 
he is apt to suppose — to authorship. The busiest lawyer or 
physician, the most earnest clergyman, the most active teacher 
or college professor, if he have the right talent, may write more 
than one good book during his lifetime, and thus build a 
monument for himself. A few great rulers or soldiers or 
statesmen live in after -times; but apart from these, literary 
fame is the only enduring one. The fame of the greatest orator 
or lawyer or physician or divine, as such, dies with them, or at 
most lives for a generation. A single good book carries one 
down through ages. 

If, however, a young man really resolve upon making liter- 
ature the business by which he is to live, his best course is to 
seek an engagement as "journalist" upon some newspaper or 
periodical. He must content himself with beginning low down ; 
but there are continual chances to rise, provided always that 
one has in him the faculty for rising. An established literary 
reputation, of course, goes for much with publishers and editors, 
just for the reason that it goes for much with readers and buy- 
ers. An editor would gladly accept a poem by Bryant or Long- 
fellow without even reading it, because he knows that people 
will buy the magazine because it contains the poem. 

The aspirant for distinction and payment in periodical 
literature should bear in mind that he must adapt his writings 
to the medium through which he hopes that they will reach 
the public. It would be useless to offer a novel to a medical 
magazine, or a poem to a railroad journal. Of all forms of com- 
position, mere verses — no matter how perfect is the rhyme and 
how accurate the number of syllables in a line — are the least 
likely to find acceptance. Probably short stones, of not more 



294 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



than eight or ten pages of an ordinary magazine, or half as 
many columns in the " story papers," are more likely to meet 
with success than any one other kind of article. Every literary 
periodical must have a good supply of these, and is very glad 
to pay for such as it accepts. The able editors, to use a phrase 
quite common among them, "have offered to them ten times as 
many tolerably good stories as they have space for; but are al- 
ways in want of very good ones." 

One essential to a good tale is that it be fresh, either in sub- 
ject or in mode of treatment, or better still in both. A mere 
imitation of a good story — no matter how clever the imitation 
may be — does not go very far towards making up a good story. 
If any story has made a decided " hit," it is sure to call out a 
host of imitations, very like the original one, for it seems a very 
easy thing to tread in the track which some one else has laid 
out. The closer the imitation is, the more likely is it to be 
" respectfully declined," if offered to the periodical who printed 
the one imitated. The besetting sin of most persons when they 
begin to write is to attempt to portray scenes of which they 
know nothing, and characters the like of which have never come 
before their eyes. A young woman living in a country village 
must take it upon herself to describe metropolitan balls and 
parties, and send her heroine to the opera and the picture- 
gallery, even if she refrains from English mansions, German 
castles, and Italian palaces. All this will be quite sure to be so 
much labor thrown away. 

Sketches of incident and character -enter largely into our 
current periodical literature. If a person has a quick eye for 
discerning the pathetic or the humorous, and has the faculty of 
portraying in words what he sees, this affords one of the most 
promising openings for literary effort, and more especially if 
facility in the use of the pencil be added to that of the pen. 
The person who can design cleverly, as well as write clearly, 
need never lack profitable employment. Such a person may, 
with perfect confidence, make literature a profession for life. 

Not a little depends upon the appearance of the manuscript 
submitted to an editor. Let it be assumed that the contributor 




THE GATES OF GHIBERTI. 
See Note 19. 



THE PROFESSIONS. 



297 



spells correctly and falls into no gross grammatical errors ; yet, 
if the manuscript be illegibly written, it has very little chance 
of receiving a careful perusal. If the powers of the editor are 
sorely tasked to make out the written words, he cannot have 
much left to appreciate any vigor of thought or grace of ex- 
pression which may be hidden under those obscure hiero- 
glyphics. A manuscript submitted to an editor, especially if 
the contributor be a stranger to him, should be as legible as a 
printed page, in order to have even a tolerable chance of success. 
Other things being at all equal, the most legible manuscript will 
have the greatest probability of acceptance. A prize was once 
offered for a tale, and Edgar Allan Poe, then quite unknown, 
was one of the competitors. His offering gained the prize, 
mainly because the manuscript was so clearly written that the 
judges could easily decipher it. It was an exceedingly clever 
story; but its cleverness would most likely have missed recog- 
nition had it been hidden under a half -legible chirography. If 
one who hopes to be a contributor will not favor the editor by 
writing legibly, he cannot reasonably expect the editor to favor 
him by a severe effort in reading. 

Most paying periodicals have at least an approximate rate 
of payment, based upon the length of an accepted contribution. 
Some, however, pay much more liberally than others. No first- 
class periodical will accept anything for which it is not ready to 
pay current rates ; and usually those writers whose names have 
a pecuniary value demand and receive much more than these. 
So, also, papers, the preparation of which requires special labor, 
special knowledge, or costly travel, are paid for at special rates, 
usually arranged by agreement. As to the remuneration re- 
ceived for such articles, no general rule can be established. A 
very convenient way of measuring the length of an article is that 
of counting how many thousand words it contains. This is the 
mode of measurement usually adopted by periodicals. The best- 
paying periodicals — in the absence of any special contract — 
pay ten dollars for a thousand words ; two-thirds of that rate is 
more often paid ; half as much is probably quite as frequent as 
either ; a quarter of it is not unusual, especially for translations. 



298 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



The clerical and legal professions are almost wholly en- 
grossed by men. Of the clergy, only 165 were women; of the 
lawyers, only 75. In the medical profession women were not 
quite so sparsely represented: of 85,671 doctors, 2432 were fe- 
males. In most other professional avocations the disproportion 
between the sexes was less strongly marked. Of the 30,477 
musicians and teachers of music, 17,295 were males and 13,182 
females. Of the 9104 artists and teachers of art, 7043 were 
males and 2061 females. Of the 4812 actors, 2992 were males 
and 1820 females. In the profession of teaching alone do the 
females outnumber the males. 

The various professional employments not comprised in 
what are generally styled "the Learned Professions," will be 
considered in their appropriate places in this volume. 



MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



299 



CHAPTER XXV. 

MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 

IT is not easy to draw any tolerably close line between the 
manufacturing and mechanical industries. Both are em- 
ployed in transforming raw material, otherwise useless, or nearly 
so, into forms in which they subserve man's necessities. In 
both human labor is brought into exercise, and in each of them 
other mechanical forces are employed. The manufacturer and 
the mechanic both use machinery, for the simplest tool or im- 
plement is as truly a machine as is the most elaborate engine 
or loom. Perhaps the most convenient classification is to in- 
clude among " manufactures " all those industries in which the 
larger portion of the result is produced directly by machinery, 
and to designate, in a general way, those as " operators " who 
direct the action of the machinery ; while those industries in 
which human labor predominates over machinery are designated 
as " mechanical," and those engaged in these industries are 
called " workmen." 

The Census Report includes mining and fishing among 
manufacturing and mechanical industries, which employ, in all, 
3,837,112 persons, of whom 3,205,124 are males and 631,958 
females — 86,677 males and 46,930 females being from ten to 
fifteen years of age. The following is a classified list of the 
several occupations, with the numbers engaged in each : 

Apprentices to trades (3857 females), 44,170. Bakers (1063 females), 
41,369. Blacksmiths, 172,726. Bleachers and dyers (649 females), 8222. 
Bookbinders (5491 females), 13,883. Boot and shoe makers (21,007 females), 
194,079. Brass-workers (737 females), 11,568. Brewers and maltsters (61 fe- 
males), 16,278. Brick and tile makers (68 females), 36,052. Broom and brush 



300 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



makers (642 females), 8479. Butchers, 76,241. Cabinet-makers (480 females), 
50,654. Carpenters and joiners, 373,143. Carriage and wagon makers (138 
females), 54,589. Cigar-makers and tobacco-workers (10,668 females), 77,045. 
Clerks in manufacturing establishments (193 females), 10,114. Clock and 
watch makers and repairers (1818 females), 13,820. Confectioners (1800 fe- 
males), 13,692. Coopers, 49,138. Cotton-mill operatives (91,479 females), 
169,771. Curriers and leather-finishers (200 females), 29,842. Engineers and 
firemen, 79,628. Fishermen and oystermen (65 females), 41,352. Glass-work 
operatives (564 females), 17,954. Gold and silver workers and jewellers (1967 
females), 28,405. Gunsmiths and locksmiths (195 females), 10,572. Harness, 
saddle, and trunk makers (1601 females), 42,973. Hat and cap makers (3855 
females), 16,860. Iron and steel work operatives (402 females), 114,530. 
Lumbermen and wood-choppers, 43,382. Machinists, 101,130. Manufacturers 
and officers in manufacturing companies (407 females), 52,217. Marble and 
stone cutters, 32,842. Masons, brick and stone, 102,473. Millers (77 females), 
53,440. Milliners and dress-makers (281,928 females), 285,401. Miners (79 
females), 234,228. Painters and varnishers (266 females), 128,566. Paper-mill 
operatives (6719 females), 21,430. Photographers (451 females), 9990. Piano- 
forte makers and tuners (37 females), 5413. Plasterers, 22,083. Plumbers 
and gas-fitters, 19,383. Potters (589 females), 7233. Printers (3456 females), 
72,726. Quarrymen, 15,169. Rubber-factory operatives (2058 females), 6350. 
Saw-mill operatives, 77,050. Sewing-machine operatives (5805 females), 7505. 
Ship-carpenters, riggers, etc., 17,452. Shirt and collar makers (8660 females), 
11,283. Silk-mill operatives (92 11 females), 18,071. Steam-boiler makers, 
12,771. Tailors and tailoresses (52,098 females), 133,756. Tinners (1037 fe- 
males), 42,818. Tool and cutlery makers (535 females), 13,749. Upholsterers 
(542 females), 10,443. Wheelwrights, 15,592. Wire makers and workers (245 
females), 7170. Wood turners and carvers (193 females), 12,964. Various 
manufacturing, mechanical, and mining occupations not specified, 242,479. 

Steam-power and Water-power used in Manufactures. 

The power of human muscle would be wholly inadequate to 
move the machinery employed in the various branches of manu- 
factures. Steam-power and water-power are used as the main 
motive force for driving machinery. In estimating the capacity 
of a steam-engine or water-wheel, what is called a "horse-power" 
is taken as the unit of measurement. One "horse-power" is that 
which would raise 33,000 pounds to the height of one foot per 
minute. This is considerably more than the actual power of a 
horse, and about eight times as much as can be exerted by a 
man. So that the 3,500,000 "horse-power" of the steam-engines 



- MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



301 



and water-wheels employed in manufactures in the United States 
is equal to that which could be exercised by 28,000,000 men for 
the same purpose. If to this we add the steam-power employed 
upon railroads and steamships, it appears that all the men in the 
United States could not perform one-third of the work done by 
the steam-engines and water-wheels. 

Table XXIV. shows for each State the number of establish- 
ments in which steam-power or water-power is employed in man- 
ufactures ; the number of water-wheels, and their horse-power ; 
the number of steam-boilers and engines, and their horse-power ; 
and the percentage of increase of horse-power in 1880 over 1870. 

The total increase in 1880 over 1870 in the steam and water 
power employed in manufactures was 45.38 per cent., the in- 
crease in the former being much greater than in the latter. In 
1870, 48.18 of the power employed was water-power and 51.82 
per cent, was steam-power; in 1880 there was 64.07 per cent, of 
steam-power and 35.93 per cent, of water-power. The steam- 
power in 1880 was equivalent to 2,185,458 "horse-power;" the 
water-power was equivalent to 1,225,379 "horse-power." Wher- 
ever water-power exists, under circumstances where it can be 
brought into use, it will, of course, be utilized for manufacturing 
purposes, since it costs little except for the machinery required. 

Water - power, to be available upon any large scale, must be 
constant up to a certain point. The river must have sufficient 
water at its lowest stages to turn a certain number of water- 
wheels ; and it is of little consequence how much more water 
there may be at high stages. Indeed, a great excess of water at 
flood -time above the usual flow is a disadvantage, by rendering 
it necessary so to place the works as to render them safe during 
flood -time. A river with a large and nearly uniform flow of 
water is required for manufacturing purposes. Large and costly 
dams are in many cases constructed in order to equalize the flow 
of water from season to season, and for the different hours of 
the day. These dams form reservoirs which store up the water 
during the night, when the wheels are not running, and let it off, 
at a regulated rate, during working hours. Many of these dams 
are very large and costly, and their construction involves the ut- 

17 



302 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



most knowledge and skill of the civil engineer, in order to render 
them capable of withstanding the enormous pressure which they 
must endure. The breaking of such a dam has often involved 
an immense loss in life and property. Water-power, to be of 
any use, must be so located as to be accessible. While the 



TABLE XXIV.— STEAM AND WATER POWER IN MANUFACTURES. 





Water-power. 


Steam-power. 


Total 


Per Cent, of 














Horse- 


Increase 




Water- 


Horse- 


Stearn- 


^teira- 


Hor^e- 


Power. 


in 1SS0. 




Whe'ls. 


Power. 


Boil'rs. 


Eng's. 


Power. 






1.40 i 


931 


11,797 


616 


551 


15,779 


/C<,0<D 


47.06 


91 

/ill 


8 


160 


15 


14 


370 


-OA 

OOU 


A OO OA 

488.89 




149 


2,024 


555 


545 


13,709 


10. < oo 


105.77 


1 AAA 


205 


4,850 


990 


779 


28,071! 


QO 001 


29.76 


181 


52 


1,849 


158 


152 


3,953 


s: OAO 


160.76 


O AOQ 
2, 0.4b 


1,784 


61,205 
803 


1,670 


1.124 


57,057: 


llc,.co-; 


47.10 


r?(\ 

iv 


36 


56 


55 


1.421 


o oo t 

~. ^4 


586.42 


61 i 


232 


4,785 


365 


254 


10,643 


1 ^ A OQ 


80.80 


115 


15 


880 


127 


118 


2,263 


Q 1 A Q 
O.14o 


66.38 


244 


70 


939 


291 


193 


6,208 


>y i A*y 


93.16 


2,0<4 


1,917 


30.067 


948 


799 


21,102 


01,109 


33. 80 


0/ 


48 


1,136 


23 


23 


546 


1 ftQO 
l.OO* 


177.56 


O "-OO 

d, <22 


751 


17,445 


4,143 


3,445 


126,843 


144, 


67.69 


4, (Job 


1,143 


21,819 


3,889 


3,634 


109,960; 


1 -J1 """A 

lol, i <U 


31.29 


1,546 


1,093 


20,363 


1.229 


1.068 


33,858 


o4. 221 


37.11 


578 


299 


7,611 


426 


396 


13.468 


21,079 


158.67 


1,767 


653 


9,012 


1,636 


1,494 


45,917 


04,929 


38.82 


402 


13 


90 


491 


430 


11,256 


ll,o4o 




1,918: 


2.8S7 


79,717 


747 


511 


20,759 


100,476 


26.27 


1,532 


1,004 


18,043 


1.20.2 


914 


33.216 


51,259 


58.10 


5,173 


3,046 


138.362 


5.105 


3,096 


171.397 


309,759 


68.02 


3,581 


1,746 


34,395 


4,109 


3,085 


130,352 


164, 747 


55.64 


964 


650 


28,689 


760 


569 


25,191 


53,880 


167.54 


893 


QA1 
OU1 


Q /HQ 


676 


635 


15 001 


18.450 


47.93 


2,428 


537 


8.162 


2,448 


2,128 


72,' 587 


80,749 


46.65 


63 


39 


954 


ol 


ol 


XAA 
044 


1,498 




262 


245 


5,495 


128 


126 


2.999 


8.494 


156.64 


26 


6 


108 


27 


23 


608 


716 




1,653 


2,122 


69.155 


598 


456 


18.595 


87,750 


13.85 


2 226 


1,213 


27,066 


2,253 


1,619 


72,792 


99,858 


71.76 


' 78 


69 


932 


19 


19 


427 


1,359 


49.18 


11,776 


9.752 


219.348 


8,101 


6,672 


234.795 


454.143 


35.82 


2,323 


2,370 


30.063 


699 


616 


15.025 


45,038 


36.00 


6 684| 


2,080 


38.641 


7,081 


6.215 


222.502 


261,143 


49.80 


443 


373 


9,255! 


196 


176 


4.334 1 


13,589 


64.18 


10,381 


7,075 
386 


110.276! 


12,095 


7,913 


402.132: 


512.408 


40.80 


608 


•22.240 


1,164 


476 


41.335 


63,575 


51.27 


1.259 


1,057 


13.873' 


592 


509 


11.995 


25,868 


73.24 


2,108 


1,382 


18.564 


( 1.074 


967 


33,388; 


51.952 


36.78 


1,3341 


174 


2,508 


1,229 


1,167 


28.026| 


30,534 


134.08 


243 


214 


3.535 


55 


55 


1,154 


4,689 


87.56 


1,582 


2,138 


52.226 


378 


272 


11.0881 


63.314 


23.37 


2,768 


2,339 


37.464 


982 


899 
61 


19.710 


57.174 


15.24 


70 


46 


1,185 


96 


3,210 


4.395 


55.69 


1,190 


670 


9.454 


934 


816 


28,456! 


37.910 


3S.71 


2,154 


2,022 


45,356 


1,879 


1,366 


60.729 


106,085 


65.18 


10 


2 


38 


18 


18 


717, 


755 


119.48 


85,923 


55,4041,225,379 


72,304 


56,483 


2, 185, 458 j 


3,410,837 


45.38 



States. 



Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas , 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Dakota Ter 

Delaware 

Dist. of Columbia. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts. . . . 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Montana Ter. 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire . . 

New Jersey 

New Mexico Ter. 
New York ....... 

North Carolina, . . 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina . . . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah Ter 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Wash. Ter 

West Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming Ter. . . . 



MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



303 



canons of the Colorado and Gila contain an immense water- 
power which will, probably, never become available as such ; 
that of Niagara may be utilized to any desired extent. 

The districts in which available water-power exists, though 
large in themselves, are small when compared with the entire 
area of the United States. The Mississippi, below its junction 
with the Missouri, affords no water-power, because there is no 
fall of water. The low-lying Gulf States are necessarily without 
water-power, for the same reason. In New England, the Atlantic 
States, from Virginia northward to New York, and in the prairie 
States of the West and North - west, the water- pow T er is already 
utilized to very nearly its full capacity. The Penobscot, the 
Kennebec, the Merrimac, the Connecticut, the Passaic, the Gen- 
esee, the Susquehanna, the Delaware, the Potomac, the Shen- 
andoah, the James, and the Ohio now turn about as many mill- 
wheels as they are capable of turning. The table shows how 
many of these there are. In portions of North Carolina, Georgia, 
Alabama, and Tennessee there is an immense amount of avail- 
able water-power not yet utilized; and there can be no doubt 
that these States will, consequently, become great manufactur- 
ing States. It will not be many years before they will not only 
manufacture all the cotton -goods required for their own con- 
sumption, but will also, probably, to a large extent, supply the 
great agricultural States of the West. There is no more prom- 
ising opening for the investment of capital and the exercise 
of skill and industry than in manufacturing in those Southern 
States which have an abundance of accessible water-power. 

Steam-power presents some marked advantages over water- 
power. It can be employed almost anywhere within a reason- 
able distance from the coal-mines ; in the most densely peopled 
city as well as in the country. Steam-power is more constant 
than water-power, except in the favored localities. The manu- 
facturer knows precisely what amount of steam - power is at his 
disposal on any day of the year ; and he can increase the quan- 
tity at will by simply putting up new engines. Hence, as the 
table show r s, the use of steam increases more rapidly than that 
of water-power in almost every State in the Union. 



304 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Table XXV. shows, for 1870 and 1880, for the principal 
branches of manufacturing industry, the total amount of steam 
and water power used ; the number of operatives employed, the 
amount of horse -power for each operative, and the percentage 
of increase of the steam-power and water-power in 1880: 



TABLE XXV.— STEAM AND WATER POWER, AND OPERATIVES. 



Industries. 


1870. 


1880. 


Per Cent, 
of 

Increase. 


Total 
Horse- 
Power. 


Hands 
Em- 
ployed. 


Power 

per 
Hand. 


Total 
Horse- 
Power. 


Hands 
Em- 
ployed. 


Power 

per 
Hand. 


Cotton goods 


146,040 


135,519 


1.08 


275,504 


185,472 


1.49 


88.65 


Flour and Grist Mills 


576,686 


58,448 


9.87 


771,201 


58,407 


13.20 


33.73 




170,675 


77,585 


2.20 


397,247 


140,978 


2.82 


132.75 




641,665 


149,997 


4.28 


821,928 


147,956 


5.56 


28.09 




53,218 


17,910 


2.97 


123,912 


24,422 


5.07 


132.84 




1,911 


6,699 


0.29 


8,810 


31,337 


0.28 


361.02 




85,101 


77,870 


1.09 


106,507 


86,504 


1.23 


25.15 


Worsted goods 


8,016 


12,920 


0.62 


16,437 


18,803 


0.87 


105.05 



There is a marked tendency in manufactures towards con- 
centrating the work in large establishments, having much cap- 
ital and employing a great number of hands. In 1870 there 
were in the United States 252,148 manufacturing establishments, 
employing 2,053,996 hands — men, women, and children — being 
an average of 8 employes to an establishment. In 1880 there 
were 253,852 establishments, employing 2,738,995 hands, being 
10.7 employes to an establishment. Thus, while the number of 
manufactories did not increase to any appreciable extent, the 
number of hands increased 33.3 per cent., the ratio of increase 
being a little higher than that of the entire population. In the 
Census Report males above sixteen are counted as men, females 
above fifteen as women, and all persons below those ages as 
children. The men employed as operatives increased 25.5 per 
cent., the women 644 per cent, the children 58 per cent. In 
1870 the average wages paid to operatives was (in gold) $302 
a year; in 1880 it was $346. The cost of food — especially of 
meat — was greater in 1880 than in 1870; the cost of cloth- 
ing was less : probably the entire cost of maintaining a fam- 
ily was about the same ; so that the general condition of the 
two and three-quarter millions of operatives was more favora- 
ble in 1880 than it was in 1870. But in 1881 and 1882 the cost 



MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



305 



of all food was much enhanced, without a corresponding in- 
crease in wages. 

The increase in the value of manufactures, from 1870 to 
1880, was much greater than that in the number of operatives. 
The value of all manufactured products in 1870 was (in gold) 
$3,385,860,329, or $1668 per hand; in 1880 the value was 
$5,369,579,191, or $1923 per hand. The relative cost of the 
materials used differs in the various manufactures. In some it 
constitutes the chief item in the cost of production ; in others 
it is relatively small, the chief expense being wages paid out. 
Taking all manufactures together, the cost of materials in 1870 
was 59 per cent, of the value of the product; in 1880 the cost 
of the material was 63 per cent, of the value of the product. 
The wages paid out in 1870 formed 18.3 per cent, of the value 
of the product; in 1880 they formed 17.7 per cent. Thus, in 
1870 the manufacturer paid out for material and wages 77.3 
per cent., leaving 22.7 per cent, for interest upon capital and 
profits. In 1880 he paid out 80.7 per cent, for material and 
wages, retaining 19.3 per cent, for interest and profits. The in- 
crease in capital invested was very large. In 1870 the total 
capital invested in 252,148 manufacturing establishments was 
(in gold) $1,684,567,015; an average of about $6650 for each. 
In 1882 there was invested, in 253,852 establishments, a capital 
of $2,790,272,606; an average of about $11,000 for each. Thus, 
capital invested in manufactures returned considerably less per- 
centage of profit in 1880 than it did in 1870, although so great 
was the increase in the value of the products, that the total of 
manufacturers' profits was very much greater in 1880 than in 
1870. 

There is a wide difference in the rates of wages earned by 
operatives in the various manufacturing industries. This arises 
from many causes, the one of most importance being the amount 
of skill required from the operative. In every industry the 
highest skill demands and receives the highest wages ; while in 
nearly all there are many persons employed whose work and 
wages are only those of the common " laborer." The average 
rate of wages is also less in those industries where women and 



306 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



children form a considerable portion of those employed; for 
they invariably receive less wages than those paid to men, and 
the low wages paid to these reduces the general average. In 
many industries, also, the work is carried on during only a part 
of the year. 

In the full and elaborate Tables comprised in the Census 
Report, 320 manufacturing industries are specified, with the 
number of establishments in which they are carried on. These 
establishments included (with certain exceptions) " every one in 
which mechanical or manufacturing industry was returned as 
having had during the Census year a product of five hundred 
dollars or more in value." These exceptions are : Fishing-prod- 
ucts, quartz-milling, petroleum-refining, gas-making, and manu- 
facturing by steam railroad companies. In regard to these sta- 
tistics, the Superintendent of the Census says : 

" The fact that — in the face of a large increase in the number of hands em- 
ployed in manufactures, of the amount of material consumed, and of the values 
of the products — the number of establishments shows hardly an appreciable gain 
from 1870 to 1880, notwithstanding an increase of 30 per cent, in population, 
is amply accounted for by the well-known tendency to the concentration of la- 
bor and capital in large establishments. A very good example of the effect of 
this cause is found in the cooper trade, where, with a reduction in the number 
of establishments from 4961 to 3898 (or nearly 22 per cent.), the hands em- 
ployed have increased 11 per cent. 

" This cause has not, however, operated equally to produce a proportional 
reduction in all branches of industry. Thus, in the carpenter trade we have 
the average number of hands employed, 5.9 in 1880 against 3.9 in 1870. But 
this increase in the average number of hands does not alone explain the de- 
crease in the number of establishments. We have also to take into account 
the effect of the growth of the sash, door, and blind factories, doing on a large 
scale, and by the aid of machinery, what was formerly done slowly on the spot 
by the individual carpenter. We have then to take into account the growth of 
the wheelwright trade. In 1870 there were 3613 establishments, employing an 
aggregate of 6989 hands; in 1880 there were 10,701 establishments, employing 
16,108 hands. We have next to take into account the introduction of machin- 
ery into the furniture and cabinet-making industry, replacing much of the for- 
mer work of the local carpenter in rural districts and small towns. 

"We have to consider the immense extension of the contract-system of 
erecting buildings, the effect of which is to disconnect an increasing proportion 
of the working carpenters of every city or large town from actual shops, and 



MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



309 



constitute them a movable, readily disposable force, to be hired now by this 
contractor and now by that, according as jobs arise. We have last to consider 
the rapid substitution of brick and stone for building, evidenced by the fact 
that the number of persons employed in the manufacture of brick in the United 
States has increased more than 50 per cent, in ten years. 

" In the same way, while the cross-road's blacksmith-shop is still a necessity 
for tens of thousands of localities, very much of the work formerly done by the 
blacksmiths is now done on a larger scale by wheelwrights, locksmiths, or ma- 
chinists, or in hardware factories or establishments producing numerous spe- 
cialties in iron and steel. . . . Space will not allow us to take up trade after 
trade to indicate the conditions which have affected its rate of growth during 
the decade just passed, but the foregoing will serve to show the variety and 
the nicety of the considerations which require to be taken into account in this 
connection." 

Although in the Census Report 320 manufacturing and 
mechanical industries are specified, yet more than seven-eighths 
of all the workmen are engaged in about fifty of these. Table 
XXVI. presents a general view of the most important features 
of these chief industries, including all of those in which more 
than 10,000 hands are employed. It shows, for each industry, 
the number of establishments, the number of hands employed, 
whether men, women, or children, the value of all the products, 
the total amount of wages paid during the census year (June, 
1879, to June, 1880), and the average yearly amount for each 
hand. 

It will be observed that, in those industries in which any con- 
siderable proportion of women and children are employed, the 
rate of wages falls much below the general average of $346. 
Thus, in the manufacture of men's clothing, women and chil- 
dren form 52 per cent, of the hands, and the average of yearly 
wages is $286. In women's clothing, women and children form 
90 per cent, and the average of wages is $264. In cotton goods,, 
women and children form 65 per cent., and the average of wages 
is $246. In woollen goods, women and children form 46 per 
cent, and the average of wages is $299. In hosiery and knit- 
goods, women and children form 74 per cent., and the average 
of wages is $232. In silk manufactures, women and children 
form 70 per cent, and the average of wages is $290. In shirt- 
making, women and children form 92 per cent., anci the average 



310 THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 

TABLE XXVL— WORKERS AND THEIR WAGES. 1880. 



Indubteies. 



Agr'l implements . . 
Blacksmiths. ...... 

Bookbinding 

Boots and shoes. . . 

Bread, etc 

Brick and tile ..... 

Car-building 

Carpenters. . 

Carpets 

Carriages & wagons 
Clothing, men's. . . . 
Clothing, women's. . 

Cooperage 

Cotton goods. 

Dyeing, etc. ....... 

Fertilizers 

Flour, etc 

Foundery, etc. 

Fruits, canned 

Furniture 

Glass 

Hardware. ........ 

Hats and caps 

Hosiery, etc 

Iron and steel 

Jewellery 

Leather, dressed . . . 
Leather, tanned .... 

Liquors, malt 

Lumber, planed . . . 
Lumber, sawed 
Marble and stone. . 

Masonry 

Mixed Textiles .... 
Musical instruments 

Painting, etc 

Paper 

Plumbing, etc 

Printing, etc. ...... 

Saddlery 

Sashes, doors, etc. . . 
Sewing-machines. . . 

Ship-building 

Shirts 

Silk goods 

Slaughtering 

Tin- ware, etc 

Tobacco, chew'g, etc. 
Tobacco, cigars .... 

Wheelwright 

Wire- work ........ 

Wooden-wares 

Woollen goods .... 
Worsted goods .... 



Establish- 


Workers. 


Value of 


Wages dur- 
ing Year. 


Average 
Wages. 


ments. 


M 1 
en. 


VV (JIJ.1CL1. 


PVnlrh'pn 


Total 


Products. 


No. 


No. 


No. 


No. 


No. 


Dollars. 


Dollars. 


Dollars. 


1,943 


38,313 


73 


1,194 


39,580 


68,640,486 


15,359,610 


388 


28,101 


33,992 


18 


516 


34,526 


43,774,271 


11,126,001 


322 


588 


5,127 


4,831 


654 


10,612 


11,976,764 


3,927,349 


369 


17,972 


104,021 


25,946 


3,852 


133,819 


196,920,481 


50,995,144 


381 


6,396 


18,925 


2,210 


1,353 


22,488 


65,824,896 


9,411,328 


419 


5,631 


59,032 


268 


7,055 


66,355 


32,833,587 


13,443,532 


202 


130 


13,885 


13 


334 


14,232 


27,997,591 


5,507,753 


387 


9,184 


53,547 


74 


517 


54,138 


94,152,139 


24,582,077 


454 


195 


10,104 


8,570 


1,697 


20,371 


31,792,802 


6,835,218 


325 


3,841 


43,630 


273 


1,491 


45,394 


64,951,617 


18,988,615 


419 


6,166 


77,255 


80,994 


2,564 


160,813 


209,548,460 


45,940,353 


286 


562 


2,594 


22,253 


345 


25,192 


32,004,794 


6,661,005 


264 


3,898 


24,435 


42 


1,496 


25,973 


33,714,770 


8,992,603 


342 


1,005 


64,107 


91,148 


30,217 


185^472 


210,950,383 


45,614,419 


246 


191 


12,788 


2,038 


1,872 


16,698 


32,297,420 


6,474,364 


388 


364 


14,677 


75 


146 


14,898 


23,650,795 
505,185,712 


2,648,422 
17,422,316 


178 


24,388 


58,239 


42 


126 


58,407 


315 


4,958 


140,459 


675 


4,217 


145,351 


214,378,468 


65,982,133 


454 


411 


10,638 


15,463 


5,804. 


31,905 


17,599,576 


2,679,960 


84 


4,843 


45,186 
17,778 


917 


2,626 


48',729 


68,037,902 


20,383,794 


418 


211 


741 


5,658 


24,177 


21,154,571 


9,144,100 


378 


492 


14,481 


814 


1,506 


16,801 


22,653,693 


6,846,693 


408 


480 


11,373 


5,337 


530 


17,240 


21,303,107 


6,635,522 
6,701,475 


385 


359 


7,517 


17,707 


3,661 


28,885 


29,167,227 
296,557,685 


232 


1,005 


133,203 


45 


7,730 


140^978 


55,476,785 


393 


739 


10,050 


1,998 


649 


12,697 


22,201,621 


6,441,688 


500 


2,521 


15,774 


285 


389 


16,448 


86,750,608 


7,286,785 


443 


3,105 


23,287 


188 


337 


23,812 


113,348,336 


9,204,243 


386 


2,191 


26,001 


29 


190 


26^620 


101,058,385 


12,198,053 


465 


1,203 


14,614 


23 


652 


15,289 


36,803,350 


5,890,724 


385 


25,708 


141,564 


425 


5,967 


147,956 


233,268,729 


31,845,974 


215 


2,846 


21,112 


OQ 


QQfl 
060 


21^471 


31,415,150 


10,238,885 


477 


1,591 


15,877 


1 


142 


16,020 


20,586,553 


6,880,866 


430 


470 


17,471 


20,520 


5,382 


43^373 


66,221,703 


13,316,753 


307 


429 


10'905 


I / O 




11,331 


19,254,739 


7,098,794 


627 


3,968 


17,271 


131 


309 


17 711 


22,457,560 


7,920,886 


447 


692 


16,133 


7,640 


649 


24'422 


55,109,914 


8,525,355 


349 


2,161 


9^217 


15 


452 


9,684 


18,133,250 
97,701,679 


4,770,389 


493 


3,634 


49,521 


7,067 


6,212 


62,800 


32,838,959 


521 


7,999 


20,024 


561 


861 


21^446 


38,081,643 


7,997,752 


370 


1,288 


20,544 


79 


1,275 


21,898 


■ 36,621,325 


8,540,930 
5,319,437 


390 


124 


10,168 


248 


959 


11,375 


15,928,025 


468 


2,188 
549 


2l'338 
2,878 




7 


21^345 
25,687 


36,800,327 
20,130,031 


12,713,813 
5,403,696 


600 


22,186 


623 


210 


382 


9,375 


16,396 


5,566 


31,337 


41,033,045 


9,146,705 


290 


872 


26,113 
23,903 




1,184 


27,297 
25,348 


303,'562'413 
48,096,038 


10,508'530 
10,722,974 


385 


7,595 


853 


1,492 


423 


477 


14,886 


10,776 


7,094 


32,756 


52,793,056 


6,419,024 


196 


7,145 


40,099 


9,108 


4,090 


53,297 


63,979,575 


18,464,562 


345 


10,701 


15,821 


17 


270 


16,108 


18,892,858 


5,074,799 


377 


345 


9,139 


472 


1,017 


10,628 


19,964,426 


3,690,896 


348 


997 


9,201 


275 


1 222 


10,698 


11,905,593 


3,688,485 


345 


1,990 


46,978 


29,372 


10' 154 


86,504 


160,606,721 


25,886,392 


299 


76 


6,435 


9,473 


2,895 


18,803 


33,549,942 


5,683,027 


302 



of wages is $210. In the manufacture of chewing and smoking 
tobacco, women and children form 60 per cent., and of these 
fully one-third are children, and the average of wages is $196. 



MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



311 



The question of the effect of the employment of women and 
children, to any noticeable extent, in any branch of industry, 
upon the general rates of wages in that branch, is deserving of 
consideration in several aspects. Upon the one hand it affords 
employment, more or less remunerative, to a large number of 
persons who most need it, and in this aspect it appears highly 
desirable ; but on the other hand it certainly tends to lower 
the general rate of wages paid to all the persons engaged in 
those industries. While the women and children receive much 
less than appears in the general average, and the men, conse- 
quently, somewhat more than this average, it will yet be found 
that the wages of the men in these branches fall below the gen- 
eral average in similar industries. That is, the wages of male 
factory operatives are less than those of most other mechanics. 
There are, indeed, exceptions to the general rule. In all our 
large manufacturing establishments there are men of high skill 
in some departments who command very large salaries ; and 
these are sufficiently numerous to furnish excellent openings 
for skilled industry. 

In a number of industries in which men are chiefly employed 
the rate of wages falls much below the general average of all in- 
dustries. For this several causes are to be assigned. In some 
branches the labor is mainly " unskilled," and the rates of w T ages 
do not differ materially from those paid to other " laborers," 
Thus, in flour and grist mills, in which the hands are almost 
wholly men, the average of wages is $315. In many cases, also, 
the work is carried on during only a portion of the year. Thus, 
in brickmaking, which is interrupted during the winter, the 
average of wages is only $202. In lumbering it is $215. The 
canning and preservation of fruits and vegetables is the most 
striking example of this class of occupations, since the season 
during which it can be carried on lasts only a few weeks, and 
the hands employed, of whom one -third are men, earn in this 
business only $84 a year. It is to be presumed that the men 
are busied in other occupations during the remaining months 
of the year. Those industries which are mainly carried on 
in-doors, and, consequently, are not greatly influenced by the 



312 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



state of the weather, show a marked gain in total wages over 
those of like character which are carried on out-of-doors, al- 
though in the latter the daily rate of wages is somewhat higher. 
Thus the average for carpenters is $454 a year, while that of 
stone-masons and bricklayers is $430. There are also several 
industries which are carried on to a considerable extent in rural 
localities which show a reduced rate of average wages. There 
will, for example, be a blacksmith and a saddler in almost every 
hamlet, who may not be occupied at his trade all the time. The 
average yearly earnings of a blacksmith are $322; of a saddler, 
$370. Very often these men are also farmers, and are some- 
times returned in the Census Report as " blacksmith and farm- 
er," or "saddler and farmer," etc. These and many other fac- 
tors enter into the problem of determining the comparative 
advantages of the various branches of mechanical industry. 

In cities the mechanic is usually occupied solely in his own 
trade, from which he derives his entire support, and in each 
city the rates of wages for each trade are very nearly uniform, 
although there is a wide difference in the several cities. The 
wages in cities are, as a rule, somewhat higher than in the 
country adjacent to them. Table XXVII. shows, for nine of 
the principal cities of the United States, the amount received as 
wages in twelve of the leading mechanical industries during the 
year 1880. The trades selected are those in which few or no 
women and children are employed, and, if any are employed, due 



TABLE XXVII.— WAGES IN CITIES, FOR TRADES. 

















G3 




d 


Tkapes. 


more. 


g 


c 


cj 

a 


Orleai 


York. 


ij 


•snio 


aucisc 




"a 






'5 
a 






2 




& 




pq 






s 






p-, 




cc 




$418 


$455 


$510 


$395 


$366 


$433 


$418 


$462 


$690 




455 


484 


587 


490 


479 


652 


480 


548 


654 


Foundery-men 


550 


477 


505 


440 


521 


643 


496 


602 


762 


505 


542 


495 


490 


540 


542 


482 


537 


655 




407 


438 


470 


432 


393 


605 


444 


535 


707 




533 


446 


530 


362 


310 


597 


396 


448 


636 




433 


504 


546 


389 


563 


580 


415 


520 


515 




595 


640 


603 


467 


679 


606 


490 


583 


851 


Saddlers 


446 


410 


450 


400 


498 


527 


402 


452 


490 




600 


639 


524 


584 


512 


828 


740 


671 


1127 




463 


490 


490 


412 


470 


490 


447 


415 


608 




365 


453 


490 


406 


300 


571 


456 


424 


661 



MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



313 



allowance has been made. The table, therefore, shows the num- 
ber of dollars earned by men. 

Table XXVIII. will afford material aid to the student of 
industrial development, and will be extremely valuable to all 
who contemplate embarking in manufacturing enterprises. It 
will, in fact, repay the careful study of any person. 

Interest on money invested, taxes, wear of machinery, etc., 
etc., must be deducted from the profits named in this table. The 
investigator can ascertain most of these items in various ways, 
and draw conclusions for himself. 

TABLE XXVIII.— MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, CAPITAL, 

AND PROFIT. 



Manufactures. 


Establishments. 


Capital. 


Profit. 




J\ XLTftver . 


Dollars. 


Per Cent. 


A orip]iltnrfil lmTilom/'i'nt o 




A9 1 HQ Afift 


.OO 


A mmiiTiltinn 


A 

1 


ft9i ono 


QQ 
.OO 


A ft i "H r*i 51 1 "fpntliPTC Qnrl flmrtiro 


1 74. 


1 9 V-} O^O 


1. Uo 


A Vt 1 Tl Ol O 1 llTTll^C 


QQ 
OO 


Q9 fiOO 


7/f 
. f± 


A WTiino'5 nrtrl tpntc 


101 


^97 700 


7Q 

. t y 


A Yi o rprtiocD 


lo 


Q79 fiHO 


.oU 




n 

y 


7Q 1 nn 
1 o, 1UU 


A 1 

.41 




al 


o a n 1 xr\Pi 
/C,4yi,0UU 


.40 


Bags, other than paper 


37 


2,425,900 


.38 


Bags, paper 


80 


1, 304, 700 


.48 


Baking and yeast powders 


110 


1,350,600 


.71 


Baskets, rattan and willow-ware 


304 


1,852,917 


.21 




3 


8,750 


.72 


Bells 


20 


793,120 


.32 


Belting and hose, leather 


96 


2,748,799 


.32 


Belting and hose, linen 


1 


10,000 


.65 


Belting and hose, rubber 


2 


265,000 


.34 


Billiard-tables and materials 


46 


1,078,169 


.74 


Blacking 


48 


494,625 


1.25 




28,101 


19,618,852 


.92 




23 


178,650 


.54 


Bookbinding and blank-book making 


18 


627,350 


.22 


588 


5,798,071 


.49 


Boot and shoe cut stock 


172 


1,210,300 


.70 


Boot and shoe findings 


135 


770,800 


.65 


Boot and shoe uppers 


81 


209.264 


.82 


Boots and shoes, including custom and repairing. 


17,972 


54,358,301 


.56 


Boots and shoes, rubber 


9 


2,425,000 


.91 


Boxes, fancy paper 


221 


1,023,777 


.84 


369 


2,496,496 


.68 


Boxes, wooden, packing 


602 


5.304,212 


.42 


Brass and copper, rolled 

Brass castings 


26 


9,057,600 


.25 


396 


5,740,237 


.38 




20 


594,582 


.27 


Bread and other bakery products 


6,396 


19,155,286 


.72 


Brick and tile 


5,631 


27,673.616 


.34 


Bridges 


75 


4,058,649 


.35 




7 


186,500 


.58 


Brooms and brushes 


980 


4,186,897 


.58 




124 


2,013.350 


.50 




4 


19,500 


.79 



314 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Manufactures. 


Establishments. 


Capital. 


Profit. 




Number. 


Dollars. 


Per Cent. 




8 


443,000 


.46 


Card-cutting and designing 


9 


13,793 


1.29 




9,184 


19,541,358 


.91 




195 


21,468,587 


.27 




396 


252,604 


.97 




5 


41,600 


* 1.32 




412 


7.034,718 


.36 




67 


770,000 


.45 




3,841 


37,973,493 


.40 


Cars, railroad, street, and repairs, not including 








statistics of establishments operated by steam 










130 


9,272,680 


.29 




6 


1,214,000 


.51 




175 


457,484 


.57 


Cheese and butter (factory) 


3,932 


9,604,803 


.60 




7 


530,500 


.76 




3 


69,800 


.35 


21 


412,325 


.41 




2 


6,000 


2.75 




22 


2,474,900 


.35 




20 


137,350 


.63 




3 


410,000 


.25 




6,166 


79,861,696 


.43 




562 


8,207,273 


.70 




3 


385,000 


.30 


Coffins, burial-cases, and undertaker's goods . . . 


300 


6,366,392 


.52 


769 


5,735,392 


.43 


Coke 


149 


5,545,058 


.11 


Collars and cuffs, paper 


13 


901,233 


.29 




38 


533,390 


.44 




1,450 


8,486,874 


.50 




3,898 


12,178,726 


.51 




98 


915,102 


.37 




165 


7,140,475 


.22 




16 


128,400 


.60 




46 


872,384 


.40 




113 


1,611,695 


.65 




29 


3,243,800 


.11 




1,005 


219,504,794 


.23 




6 


70,500 


.76 


Crucibles 


11 


1,450,250 


.14 




429 


9,859,885 


.25 




75 ■ 


773,650 


1.48 




20 


840,800 


.44 




51 


489,163 


.51 




592 


28,598,458 


.33 




303 


851,110 


.66 




191 


26,223,981 


.46 




41 


2,363,700 


.34 




3 


425,000 


.44 




36 


873,300 


.56 




221 


865,898 


.79 




11 


397,900 


.38 




3 


150,000 


.28 




19 


145,200 


.38 




11 


54,500 


.30 




246 


416,840 


1.19 




55 


2,387,050 


.16 




167 


183,733 


1.80 




12 


923,800 


.33 




39 


579,750 


.57 




151 


1,359,450 


.52 




26 


1,958,254 


.38 



MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



315 



Ma^'TJTACTUEES. 


Establishments. 


Capital. 


Profit. 





Number. 


Dollars, 


Per Cent. 




364 


17,913,660 


.31 




179 


1.666,550 


.44 




39 


8,115,489 


.14 




3 


A A A AAA 

400,000 


.09 




11 


54,300 


.81 




58 


404,615 


.66 




79 


620,455 


.36 




24,338 


177,361,878 


.26 




109 


l,293,90o 


.44 


t ounderv and machme-shop products 


4,958 


154,519,484 


.29 




15 


126,500 


.44 




1 


150,000 


.41 


Fruits and vegetables, canned and preserved. . . 


411 


8,247,488 


.34 




1 


-1 AA AAA 

100,000 


.37 


Furnishing goods, men's 


161 


3,724,664 


.63 


Furniture 


4,843 


38, 669,'/ 64 


.41 


Furniture, chairs 


384 


6,276.364 


.32 




192 


3,598,887 


.41 




21 


671,450 


.79 


Gas and lamp fixtures 


35 


O A 1 O A A A 

3,248,400 


.36 




34 


^ -i A r** AAA 

l,14i,000 


.26 




211 


HA C> A A /*AA 

19,844,699 


.20 




170 


945,180 


.70 




300 


O O^A O A O 

o,di9,o48 


A A 

.40 


Glucose 


7 


2,255,000 


.39 


/~i i 


82 


3,916,750 


.23 


Gold and silver leal and Ion 


60 


498,500 


.38 


Gold and silver, reduced and refined, not from 








28 


817,100 


.29 




4 


113,000 


.27 




156 


2,566,779 


.54 




14 


125,261 


.33 




33 


4, 983, o60 


.15 




299 


613,040 


.77 


Hammocks 


5 


22,300 


1.38 


Handles, wooden 


206 


1,032,090 


.50 




39 


152,700 


.45 




46 


103,150 


1.28 




492 


15,363,551 


.37 




64 


1,655,550 


.56 




64 


746,828 


.57 • 


Hats and caps, not including wool hats 


489 


5,455,468 


.97 




21 


1,601,625 


.66 




25 


132,525 


.59 


Hooks and eyes 


5 


420,188 


.15 




359 


15,579,591 


.46 


House-furnishing goods 


48 


456, 806 


.64 




35 


1,251,200 


.19 




63 


1,251,050 


.42 


Instruments, professional and scientific 


171 


1,342,196 


.45 


Iron and steel 


1,005 


230,971,884 


.21 




100 


4,933,019 


.40 


Iron doors and shutters 


6 


79,375 


1.19 


Iron forgings 


91 


3.598,241 


.33 


Iron nails and spikes, cut and wrought 


62 


3,877,805 


.27 


Iron pipe, wrought 


35 


6,129,565 


.33 


Iron railing, wrought 


131 


662,197 


.47 


Iron-work, architectural and ornamental 


89 


738,000 


.74 


Ivory and bone-work 


55 


775,564 


.36 




30 


78,710 


.77 




739 


11,431,164 


.47 


Jewellery and instrument cases 


17 


62,000 


.51 


Jute and jute goods 


4 


415,000 


.26 



316 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Manttfactuees. 


Establishments. 


Capital. 


Profit, i 




Number. 


Dollars. 


Per Cent. 




63 


1,291,527 


.34 




213 


1,018,490 


.54 




19 


451,500 


.49 




74 


1,873,625 


.40 




55 


176,875 


.98 




26 


2,513,066 


.27 




62 


477,692 


.49 


Lead, bar. pipe, sheet, and shot 


32 


2,466,375 


.37 




24 


856,200 


.19 




2,319 


16,878,520 


.42 




202 


6,266,237 


.32 




57 


561,900 


.82 




2 


17,100 


5.14 




3,105 


50,222,054 


.36 


Lightning-rods 


20 


431,750 


.46 




615 


6,332.338 


.24 




5 


406,800 


.23 




844 


24,247.595 


.43 




2,191 


91,208.224 


.56 




117 


2,581,910 


.23 




167 


4,501,825 


.41 




607 


705,815 


.77 


Looking-glass and picture frames 


645 


4,437,666 


.51 




1,203 


17.612,923 


.36 




25,708 


181,186,122 


.30 


Malt 


216 


14,390,441 


.24 




46 


750,300 


.32 




2,846 


16,498,221 


.51 




1,591 


3,990,706 


.89 


Matches 


37 


2,114,850 


.39 




12 


212,000 


.37 




357 


1,749,750 


.74 




247 


2,678,880 


.66 




16 


178,900 


.48 




512 


2,569,561 


.60 




7 


155.800 


.30 




470 


37,99(3.0."); 


.41 




230 


377.551 


.92 




4 


3,100 


1.50 


Musical instruments, and materials not specified. 


84 


654,850 


.26 


Musical instruments, organs, and materials 


171 


3,922,338 


.33 


Musical instruments, pianos, and materials 


174 


9,869,577 


.23 




40 • 


1,144,550 


.34 




13 


140,650 


.40 




8 


474,000 


.47 




45 


3,862,300 


.44 


Oil, essential 


124 


67,755 


1.46 


Oil, illuminating, not including petroleum refin- 










7 


128,500 


.57 




28 


1,127,500 


.33 




81 


5,872,750 


.29 




51 


1,370.225 


.42 




15 


433,050 


.07 




3 


82.523 


.41 




4 


315,000 


.25 




25 


3,429.550 


.26 




15 


1.680,300 


•70 


Painting and paper-han2;m°; 


3.968 


5.645.950 


1.02 




244 


13.555.292 


.39 


Paper, not specified 


692 


46,241,202 


.27 




25 


3,560.500 


.49 




4 


105,100 


4.07 




563 


10,620,880 


.47 



MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICS. 



Manufactuk.es. 



Establishments. 



Capital. 



Paring materials 

Pencils, lead 

Pens, gold 

Pens, steel 

Perfumery and cosmetics 

Photographic apparatus 

Photographing 

Photographing materials 

Pickles, preserves, and sauce 

Pipes, tobacco 

Plated and Britannia ware 

Plumbing and gas-fitting 

Pocket-books 

Postal cards 

Printing and publishing t 

Printing materials 

Pumps, not including steam-pumps , 

Racking hose 

Refrigerators 

Regalia, and society banners and emblems 

Registers, car-fare 

Rice, cleaning and polishing 

Roofing and roofing materials 

Rubber and elastic goods 

Rubber, vulcanized 

Rules, ivory and wood 

Saddlery and harness 

Safes, doors and vaults, fire-proof 

Salt 

Salt, ground 

Sand and emery paper and cloth 

Sashes, doors, and blinds 

Saws 

Scales and balances 

Screws 

Sewing-machine cases 

Sewing-machines and attachments 

Shingles, split 

Ship-building 

Shirts : 

Shoddy 

Show-cases 

Silk and silk goods 

Silversmithing 

Silverware 

Slaughtering and meat-packing, not including 

retail butchering establishments 

Smelting and refining base scrap-metal, not from 

the ore 

Soap and candles 

Soda-water apparatus 

Spectacles and eye-glasses 

Sporting goods 

Springs, steel, car, and carriage 

Stamped ware 

Starch 

Stationer}" goods 

Steam fittings and heating apparatus : 

Stencils and brands . 

Stereotyping and electrotyping 

Stone and earthenware 



Number. 
46 

4 
16 

3 

67 
10 

1,287 
5 

109 
37 
55 
2,161 
53 
1 

3,467 
27 
411 
1 
71 
47 
1 
22 
493 
90 
3 
6 

7,999 
40 
268 



1,228 
89 
64 
20 
18 
106 
45 
2,188 
549 
73 
93 
382 
38 
39 

872 

4 
629 
8 
62 
86 
59 
26 
139 
159 
95 
104 
45 
686 



Dollars. 

745,750 
341,597 
370,150 
182,500 
813,827 
90,800 
3,131,895 
63,000 
841,033 
233,800 
5,862,025 
5,950,512 
598,350 
20,000 
62,983,704 
199,900 
2,383,482 
500 
727.220 
452,590 
300,000 
562,200 
2,329,277 
6,057,987 
226,200 
54,200 
16,508,019 
2,201,600 
8,225,740 
322,900 
121,500 
20,457,670 
3,281,135 
3,814,981 
4,265,000 
741,300 
12,501,830 
17,770 
20,979,874 
6,841,778 
1,165,100 
341,970 
19,125,300 
257,198 
1,640,900 

49,419,213 

162,100 
14,541,294 
413,000 
643,825 
1,444,750 
1,769,293 
2,175,940 
5,328,256 
3,286,325 
3,075,751 
224,525 
536,000 
6,380,610 



# Less than one per cent. 



318 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Manufactures. 


Establishments. 


Capital. 


Profit. 




Number. 


Dollars. 


Per Cent. 




77 


3,333,560 


.40 




4 


365,000 


.09 




49 


27,432,500 


.28 




71 


843,142 


.53 


Tar and turpentine, not including farm products. 


508 


1,866,390 


1.03 




16 


25,750 


1.50 




40 


636,458 


.57 




15 


496,550 


.36 




1 


500,000 


.38 


Tin-foil 


4 


686,000 


.17 


Tin-ware, copper-ware, and sheet-iron ware. . . . 
Tobacco, chewing and smoking, and snuff 


7,595 


22,252,290 


.54 


477 


17,207,401 


.69 




7,145 


21,698,549 


.73 




52 


1,089,342 


.29 


Tools 


145 


4,384,109 


.27 




106 


915,575 


.49 




265 


2,792,256 


.55 




48 


2,772,690 


.25 




172 


2,658,725 


.47 




781 


2,885,401 


.57 




79 


1,690,200 


.11 




81 


3,778,100 


.43 




12 


138,450 


.70 




5 


261,500 


.46 




306 


2,151,766 


.51 




61 


652,549 


.64 




20 


117,550 


.70 




1,202 


1,704,571 


.63 




27 


1,584,740 


.50 




11 


4,144,327 


.13 


Whalebone and rattan 


12 


166,450 


.48 




22 


266,200 


.19 




10,701 


10,641,080 


.66 




88 


1,078,070 


.54 




69 


697,100 


.34 




131 


1,385,515 


.59 


Wire 


40 


4,230,071 


.42 




305 


3,681,893 


.54 




2 


120,000 


.18 




50 


1,898,450 


.49 




710 


3,450,710 


.48 




287 . 


3,696,794 


.29 




43 


3,615,830 


.58 




1,990 


96,095,564 


.35 


Worsted goods 


76 


20,374,043 


.28 




16 


2,022,600 


.14 



REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS IN MECHANICAL ARTS. 319 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS IN MECHANICAL ARTS. 
HE various mechanical industries present numerous op- 



X portunities for the acquisition of an honorable compe- 
tence, and even of wealth. In most other avocations the pos- 
session of a considerable capital is an absolute prerequisite. 
The merchant must have capital, or credit — which is practically 
the same thins: — to start with. The farmer usually owns his 
land and live-stock, and must have various implements and ma- 
chinery, often expensive. The lawyer or physician must have 
at least the capital which has been permanently invested in his 
support during the years while he was studying for his pro- 
fession ; and, after he is ready to enter upon the practice of it, 
he must, in most cases, wait for several years before he can earn 
a good income, even if he is in the end successful. 

The mechanic or craftsman is, in a great measure, free from 
these initiatory burdens. His earnings commence from the day 
when his apprenticeship begins, and from the first he usually 
receives his full support. In several States — New York among 
the rest — there is upon the statute-books an admirable law of 
apprenticeship. The indenture must be signed by the em- 
ployer, by the apprentice, and by his parents or guardians. 
The apprentice must engage to serve for not less than three 
nor more than five years ; if he leave his master without due 
cause he may be arrested and put in prison. The master must 
covenant to provide the apprentice with proper food, lodging, 
and medical attendance, to teach him every branch of the craft, 
and at the end of the term to give him a written certificate that 
he has served his full time. This indenture of apprenticeship 

IS 




320 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



is by law held to have something of the sacredness of the mar- 
riage-contract, fdr it cannot be invalidated even by mutual con- 
sent, but requires an order from some proper court. 

Such formal indentures of apprenticeship are not now usual. 
The master is not held bound to make a thorough workman 
of his apprentice, who may learn about as much or as little of 
the craft as he pleases. It may very reasonably be questioned 
whether the former method of apprenticeship was not better 
than the present one. But, in any case, the young man who ex- 
pects to succeed must make up his mind from the outset to see 
how much of his trade he can master — not how little. The dif- 
ference between an unskilled workman and a thoroughly skilled 
one makes all the difference between success and failure ; and 
between a great failure and a high success there is every grada- 
tion of partial failure and moderate success. 

The artisan may earn journeyman's wages from the time 
when he enters upon earliest manhood. He can exercise his 
craft wherever he pleases, without let or hinderance. The cum- 
brous system of " guilds," which in Europe so terribly hampers 
the craftsman under pretence of aiding and protecting him, has 
hardly even a nominal place among us; for our "trades-unions " 
are, in their intent, only voluntary associations for mutual con- 
venience into which any respectable member of the craft may 
enter as a matter of right. There is nothing to prevent any 
man — or woman, for that — from learning any trade and from 
working at it whenever he pleases. And he can do this without 
any capital except his own educated hand — the only fitting im- 
plement for executing the purposes and behests of the educated 
brain. The education of the hand to fulfil its uses is of para- 
mount importance to the artisan. 

It is the hand quite as truly as the brain which distinguishes 
the human being from all other creatures ; and the hand can 
be educated not less than the brain can be. Man alone has a 
developed hand. The paw of the monkey is not a hand. It has, 
indeed, four fingers and a thumb — such as they are — and so the 
monkey is capable of grasping an object with either of his four 
paws. The position of the thumb, and its great strength, is the 



REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS IN MECHANICAL ARTS. 321 



main characteristic of the human hand as distinguished from 
the paw of the chimpanzee, which differs less from our hand 
than that of any other of the monkey tribes. The thumb of the 
chimpanzee is feeble, and reaches only as far as the root of the 
fingers. In man the thumb reaches to the second joint of the 
fingers, and is as strong as all of them together. Upon the po- 
sition of the thumb in relation to the fingers, its length, strength, 
and freedom of movement, depends mainly the adaptation of the 
human hand to be the sceptre of the world. Apart from his 
hand man is, in proportion to his size and weight, one of the 
weakest and most defenceless of earthly creatures. With the 
exception of the sense of touch, of which the hand is the special 
organ, he is exceeded in the acuteness of his physical sense by 
many beasts and birds. The eagle and hawk and all the feline 
animals surpass him in sharpness of sight, the dog and the 
hyena in keenness of smell, and most wild beasts in acuteness 
of hearing. 

Without a hand such as he has, man could never have at- 
tained his ascendency over the animate and inanimate world; 
and were he to be deprived of it he could not maintain this su- 
premacy. Without the hand he could never have constructed 
tools for use or weapons for defence and offence, and could 
not use them if they were furnished to him. Some philosophers 
have gone so far as to maintain that man's supremacy is ow- 
ing to his possession of a hand ; but this is only a partially true, 
and, therefore, a wholly untrue, representation of the case. The 
hand is not the cause of man's superiority, but the means by 
which he is able to assert it. His supremacy lies primarily in 
his brain — using the word to include the whole of that com- 
plex organization through which the intangible mind acts upon 
tangible matter. 

Give a lion — he having only a lion's brain — a pair of human 
hands, and he would still be a lion and nothing more. He 
would never build a house or dig a well, fashion a spear or 
paint a picture. The physical organs of all animals are quite 
adequate for the doing of many things which would greatly con- 
tribute to their comfort — things which they never do, because 



322 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



they have not the necessary directing brain. The bear needs a 
burrow as well as the rabbit, and his paws are equally adapted 
to the digging of one; but he never does this, and trusts to 
chance for a cave. He has the paw, but lacks the brain. 

The paw of the chimpanzee is capable of performing many 
important functions of the human hand. Had he the necessary 
brain he could rub two sticks together and create a blaze, and 
gather fuel to keep the fire alive. But no ape or monkey 
has ever thought of building or maintaining a fire for himself. 
If he comes upon one which a hunter has left smouldering, he 
will crouch by the embers as long as they are warm, but it never 
occurs to him to put fresh fuel upon the fire, and so keep it 
burning. The paw of the orang-outang is perfectly adapted for 
wielding a club or hurling a stone ; but — Cuvier to the contrary 
notwithstanding — there is no good reason to believe that any 
monkey, unless taught by man, has ever employed any such 
means of offence or defence, or has ever used any kind of tool 
or implement except those with which Nature has furnished him. 
Man has not inaptly been designated, in contradistinction from 
all other creatures, as a " tool-using animal." There is no hu- 
man race, however low, which does not make and use tools of 
some kind ; there is no other animal, however high in the scale, 
wmich of itself either makes or uses them. Give a being a hu- 
man hand and a monkey's brain and he would never be capable 
of doinsf what man does. Give a beinsr a human brain and a 
monkey's hand and he would do many things which the monkey 
never does. But it is not until you give a being both a human 
brain and a human hand that this being becomes a man. 

The hand derives its value as an instrument for man's use, 
from the fact that it is capable of executing so many things 
which the brain conceives — things which practically transform 
him from one of the weakest and most defenceless of creatures 
to the strongest of them all. " Some animals," says Ray, " have 
horns, some have hoofs ; some have teeth ; some have claws, 
spurs, and beaks. Man hath none of these ; but a hand — with 
reason to use it — supplies the use of all these." 

We speak of the "education of the hand;" and the hand, as 



REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS IN MECHANICAL ARTS. 323 

the special organ of the sense of touch, is capable of being "edu- 
cated" in a manner — or, at least, to an extent — far higher than 
can be done with any other of the organs of sense. The eye of 
a child a few months old sees as well, his ear hears as well, 
as they do in mature life. What we call the education of the 
eye and the ear is rather the training which the mind gives 
itself in order to correctly interpret what the eye or the ear re- 
ports to it. The education of the hand involves all this, and 
much more ; for the eye and the ear are mainly the informants 
of the mind, while the hand, besides this, is also the apt instru- 
ment for carrying out the intentions of the will, and for this 
purpose it must receive the most sedulous training. 

The eye and the ear act only -very slightly under the direc- 
tion of the will. If they are open, the will cannot prescribe what 
they shall see or hear. But the hand acts only when and in 
what manner the will directs. The will orders a blow to be 
struck, and the hand strikes ; a web to be woven, and the hand 
weaves ; a picture to be painted, and the hand paints ; a tune to 
be played, and the hand touches the responsive keys. 

So thoroughly may the hand be trained that it seems to do 
its work automatically. The musician wills that a certain note 
be given out from the piano or organ, and the hand flies, appar- 
ently of itself, to the proper place on the key-board; the proper 
finger and no other not only strikes the right key, but with the 
right force and duration. The printer wishes to pick up a par- 
ticular letter which forms a part of the word which he is to " set 
up." His eye shows him a hundred boxes in his " case," in each 
of which are hundreds of types lying in all positions, and selects 
one which happens so to lie that it can be picked up and 
brought to the "stick," right end upward and right side outward, 
without turning it on the way. The will and the eye have ap- 
parently nothing further to do in the matter. The right hand 
goes to the proper box, the fingers close upon the selected type 
and bring it to its place in the "stick," and all in a second or less. 
The left hand, and each finger of it, are no less busy in holding 
the " stick," shifting its place in the hand, and keeping the line 
of types in position. The mind and the eye are meanwhile 



324 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



busied in spelling out the words of the "copy" which is to be 
"set up," letter by letter. But, no sooner is one type deposited in 
its place than the mind is ready to order another to be picked 
up, and so on hour after hour. 

The process of " distributing " the types is quite as remark- 
able as that of "composing" them, and is performed five or six 
times as rapidly. The left hand of the compositor holds some 
twenty lines of "matter" — that is, types which, having been 
printed from, are to be replaced in the "case." Of this he takes 
as many as he can conveniently hold between the balls of the 
thumb and forefinger of the right hand, holds the word before 
the eye so that he can read it, and then begins to drop the let- 
ters, each into its own box. The hand hovers over the case 
like a bee upon the wing, without a moment's pause except to 
take new matter. A good compositor will, in this manner, dis- 
tribute from 10,000 to 20,000 types in an hour, making scarcely 
an error. " Clean distributing" is one of the most essential 
points of a good compositor, for every error which he makes in 
distributing will, of necessity, appear in the composition, and 
must be corrected by him. A slovenly compositor may spend 
half his time in correcting errors which a clean compositor 
would not have made. 

The operation of type-setting presents a favorable illustra- 
tion of the perfection to which the education of the hand may 
be brought. But the principle — and sometimes even to a higher 
degree — extends to every department of mechanical industry. 
In this instance the hand works most of the time independently 
of the eye, which loses sight of the hand the instant the fingers 
have closed upon the type. But there are cases in which the 
best-educated hand can do its work only w T ith the co-operation 
of the eye and under its constant supervision. The watch- 
maker's eye must never for an instant lose sight of his fingers. 
The hand of the engraver can cut the delicate lines upon his 
block or plate only under the superintendence of the eye ; and 
the variation of a fraction of a hair's -breadth might mar the 
effect of the whole work. 

The hand differs from the other organs of sense in this, that 




SCULPTURE OVER DOOR OF ST. HUBERT'S. 
See Note 22. 



REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS IN MECHANICAL ARTS. 327 

the pair forms two separate organs, acting independently of each 
other. The two eyes and the two ears, when in a normal con- 
dition, usually act as one organ and unite in performing a single 
act. In the duplex organ of vision the true report is not that of 
either eye, but is made up of the combined report of both. The 
true position of any object is not that in which it is seen by the 
right eye or by the left, but is midway between them. 

The two hands forming, as it were, two individuals, must re- 
ceive a separate education. The right hand may have been 
trained to do a thing perfectly, while the left hand cannot do it 
at all, or only very imperfectly. A man often writes beautifully 
with the right hand, while he can make only an illegible scrawl 
with the left. It is by no means agreed upon why most men 
are found to be right-handed, those who are left-handed or both- 
handed being exceptions to the general rule ; but such is the 
fact. There seems to be nothing in the mechanism of the two 
hands and arms to account for this ; and there is nothing which 
the right hand can do which the other may not be trained to do 
just as well. A child who has lost the use of his right hand can 
be taught to write just as well with the left. Many who have 
lost their right hands after reaching maturity have trained the 
left hand to write as well as the other ever could. 

Not unfrequently both hands must be equally and simulta- 
neously used in precisely the same work. The wood-chopper 
" shifts hands " from time to time, each hand doing by turns the 
work of the other. The accomplished organist or pianist uses 
both hands at the same time and with equal facility. The 
violinist uses both hands at the same time, but in a different 
manner ; but it is not easy to say whether the " bowing " or the 
"fingering" calls for the more technical skill. As a^matter of 
fact, however, the left hand is in most cases much less efficient 
than the other and, as it has so much important work to do, 
there is all the more reason why its training should receive 
special attention. It is like a child whose early education has 
been neglected, and the deficiency should, as far as possible, be 
made up. 

To a certain and not very limited extent the capacity of the 



328 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



hand for education is hereditary, like most other of aur physical 
and mental characteristics. The child inherits in a measure the 
hands as well as the features of one or both of its parents, and 
the parents likewise inherit those of theirs. In the East, where 
the sons have followed the. occupations of their fathers from 
time immemorial, the workmen produce marvels of manual skill, 
which we are wholly unable to equal. Not a little of this is to 
be attributed to the inherited as well as to the acquired dexterity 
of the hand. 

The education of the hand is important in every sphere of 
industry. It is of special consequence in all " skilled labor." 
The wide difference between a first-rate artisan and an ordinary 
or inferior one depends very much upon the education which 
their respective hands have received. Without a well-educated 
hand no man can become a first-rate artisan or artist. This 
lacking, nothing else can supply the defect ; and it must be 
borne in mind that in the education of the hand every one 
must be mainly his own constant instructor. 

The difference between the earnings of a first- class and a 
second-class workman is very great. The first-class man will 
inevitably secure the best-paying work ; and, moreover, which is 
of quite equal consequence, he may be sure of always having 
work to do. In the dullest of times he can hardly fail to be em. 
ployed, while his less capable competitor is forced to sit idle. 
It is not a little surprising how small is the proportion of thor- 
oughly competent workmen in any department of industry;' and 
there are few branches in which there is likely to be an over- 
supply of such. In almost every department of endeavor there 
is, at least with us, " room at the top." It is far below the sum- 
mit that 'overcrowding begins, and from thence downward it 
goes on, ever increasing, to the very bottom. 

The bearing of this education of the hand upon the artisan s 
success in life is of the utmost importance. The fact is unde- 
niable, and is becoming every day more apparent, that our 
American craftsmen are in this respect behind those of other 
countries. The best workmen in almost all skilled labor are 
those who have been trained in foreign workshops, and, in con- 



REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS IN MECHANICAL ARTS. 329 

sequence, they hold the best situations. Something of this is, 
doubtless, owing to the fact that skilled labor is, as a rule, better 
paid in the United States than in Europe, and, consequently, 
large numbers of the best European workmen emigrate to this 
country. It is folly for us to cherish the belief that there is 
anything in the mere fact of a man's birth on this side of the 
Atlantic which makes him a better workman than one who is 
born abroad. One individual may, indeed, learn to do a thing 
more easily or more quickly than another individual, but it is 
because he is more highly endowed in certain requisite faculties 
— not because he is born in this place or in that. In neither 
case is skill to be acquired without persistent effort, and he who 
puts forth such efforts at the earliest period, and keeps them up 
most sedulously, is the one who will be sure to attain the highest 
success. Indeed, the opportunity for acquiring skill is perhaps 
the most valuable of all those which present themselves at the 
beginning: of his career. 

Something of the comparative unskilfulness of American 
artisans is owing to the almost universal abolition of the former 
apprenticeship system. In very few trades is there now any 
practical apprenticeship. The old terms "master" and "appren- 
tice" are as good as obsolete; the persons formerly so desig- 
nated are now simply employers and employes. The learner is 
taught only a part of the craft in the whole of which the former 
apprentice was instructed ; and, strange as it may seem, the com- 
parative high pay which he soon receives for his work prevents 
him from learning thoroughly even that part which he partially 
learns. As far as possible he works " by the piece," and his aim 
is to do as much work as he can, rather than to do it in the best 
manner. The universal introduction of machinery has much to 
do with this. Its inevitable influence is to tend to render the 
workman a mere attendant upon the machine, and, in so far as 
this is the case, the introduction of labor-saving machinery is 
certainly injurious to the artisan. There are, however, other 
aspects of the subject, which will be .considered in a subsequent 
chapter. 

It is, nevertheless, gratifying to note that there is a marked 



330 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



improvement in the technical education of American workmen. 
The establishment of technical schools and schools of art has 
much to do with this, both as cause and effect, and no subject 
is more deserving of earnest consideration than this. This 
improvement is most especially noticeable in the department 
of " Manufactures," which will be considered in the following 
chapter. 



SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 331 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES, 

THUS far we have considered the artisan as a workman 
whose success in life depends mainly upon his own skill 
in his craft. Industry and temperance are of course presup- 
posed ; for these wanting, no degree of manual dexterity can 
bring wealth or comfort. Due economy is also presupposed ; 
for no matter how much a man may earn, he is a poor man if 
he habitually spends, or tries to spend, more than his earn- 
ings. But there are still other conditions required for that suc- 
cess in life, some of the roads to which we are endeavoring to 
point out. 

One's occupation must be judiciously selected, and even 
changed, if need be, or if more advantageous ones occur. It 
is unwise for a man to begin to make articles which no one 
wishes to purchase, or to go on making them when for any 
cause they have passed out of use. Wig -making was a lucra- 
tive trade in the days when no respectable man wore merely 
his natural hair. The thing which one has learned to make 
may have been a very useful one in its day, but if something 
better has been found to take its place, there is no use to go on 
making it. The craft of the armorer was the foremost one in 
Europe, in the ages when every man - at - arms was clad in steel 
from head to foot. Monk Schwartz — or whoever else it was 
that invented gunpowder — put an end to that craft. The trade 
of " fletcher," or bow-and-arrow maker, was at a time one of the 
most important and lucrative in England (men were accus- 
tomed to take their surnames from their trades, and there were 
almost as many Fletchers as Smiths); but the flintlock super- 



332 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES, 



seded the bow-and-arrow, just as the percussion-rifle superseded 
the flintlock. It is curious to look over some not very ancient 
book of handicrafts and see how many trades have become 
extinct. 

Again, new means are continually devised by which an arti- 
cle of common use may be produced as well perhaps better, or 
at all events more cheaply, than by existing methods. The ap- 
plication of machinery is the most striking example of this. In 
cases not a few, as in that of the sewing-machine, one inven- 
tion has revolutionized entire industries. Xot very lon^ aeo, 
in the making of a watch, a workman with a few simple tools 
cut separately every minute screw and wheel, every pinion and 
bearing. Now, one man, by the aid of a machine, will do in a 
day more than he could do in months by hand. One printing- 
machine does the work of many scores of hand -pressmen, and 
for the time throws many of them out of employment. The 
folding-machine has done the like for bookbinders; the planing- 
machine for carpenters, and so on ; and the end is not yet. 
There are few departments of manual industry which are not 
liable to the invasion of machinery. It is by no means im- 
probable that type-setting and type - distributing machines will 
in time come to take, to a large extent, the place of the com- 
positor. Some of the failures in this direction tread very close- 
ly upon the heels of success. 

There have been loud laments raised as machinery has been 
brought into competition with hand -labor in one industry and 
another — a competition which in most cases can have but one 
result. Laws have been proposed, and sometimes enacted and 
partially enforced, prohibiting or limiting the use of machin- 
ery. Workmen thrown out of employment have demolished the 
obnoxious machinerv. The stocking-weavers of Enoiand broke 
in pieces the knitting-looms ; the cotton-spinners set themselves 
in fierce opposition to Arkwright and his spinning - frame ; the 
harvesters in England destroyed the reaping-machines, and 
burned the barns of those who used them ; the silk - weavers 
of Lyons mobbed Jacquard, broke his looms in pieces, and 
threatened his life. He it was, they said, who, by his accursed 



SUCCESS IX MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 333 



inventions, was taking the bread from the mouths of their wives 
and children. 

There can be no doubt that every invention which reduces 
the amount of manual labor in any branch of industry does, 
temporarily, reduce the number of workmen in that particular 
branch, and compels them to find other means of earning a 
livelihood. But in most cases a steady and permanent increase 
of laborers soon follows. The comparative cheapness of the 
articles produced enlarges the demand for them, and the man- 
ufacture is stimulated accordingly. What had been luxuries, 
attainable only by the few, become necessaries within the 
reach of the many. The invention of printing destroyed the 
trade of the calligraphers, who had been the sole producers 
of books; but the cheapening of literature so augmented the 
number of readers that it was not long before there were 
more persons earning their living by the new method of re- 
production than there had been before by the slow and tedi- 
ous process of copying. 

Some great industries, which have come to be essential to 
a civilized community, are possible only by the employment of 
machinery, which apparently does away with so much hand- 
labor. A morning newspaper cannot go to press before mid- 
night, and its whole edition, perhaps 1 50,000 sheets, printed on 
both sides, must be worked off as early as six o'clock in the 
morning. It would require at least 200 hand -presses to do the 
work of one printing-machine, and each press must have a 
separate cast of the types, a number which could not be pro- 
duced, by any known means, within the requisite time. But 
suppose that this obstacle of time should be found not insuper- 
able, the cost would still be so great that the paper could not 
be sold for anything like its price — say, two cents ; it would be 
so expensive that only a comparatively small circulation could 
be reached. Without the perfected printing-press the daily 
newspaper, as we have it, would be an impossibility. The 
machine, while doing the work of perhaps 200 men, actually 
furnishes employment to many more — paper- makers, editors, 
newsdealers, and the like. The illustration might be carried on 



334 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



so as to reach almost every branch of industry, and with the 
same general result : While the introduction of machinery does 
undoubtedly, for a time, operate unfavorably upon those persons 
immediately affected by it, yet it so cheapens the cost that the 
amount of production is greatly enhanced, and either directly or 
indirectly augments the total amount of labor. Statisticians tell 
us that it would require 50,000,000 hand-spinners — more than the 
present population — to turn into thread all the cotton which is 
annually woven in England. Set every man, woman, and child 
in Massachusetts at a spinning-wheel or hand -loom, and all of 
them could not manufacture as much cloth as is produced by 
the 95,000 power- looms and 62,000 hands employed in the 
175 cotton manufactories of that State. But the spinning-wheel 
and hand -loom are themselves machines of no inconsiderable 
power. If we had only the distaff and simple loom of the 
Hindoos, the entire labor of every inhabitant of the United 
States would not clothe the people as they are now clothed. 

But while, in the general result, the introduction of machin- 
ery must be admitted to be of high benefit to the community, it 
is not the less certain that it may be detrimental to those with 
whose labor it comes into direct and immediate competition. 

In the choice of an avocation, therefore, one should be care- 
ful to choose one from which he will not be likely to be driven 
out by machinery; and in almost every case he should be able 
to direct his energies into a new channel. It is well to be able 
to do some one thing perfectly; but the man who can do only 
one thing runs a great risk of not always finding that one thing 
to do. This uncertainty is a decided objection to what may be 
styled the " trade of office-holding." The man who obtains a 
clerkship under Government receives, perhaps, a somewhat 
greater salary than he would in like private employment, but 
in a few years he in a measure unfits himself for other occupa- 
tions. In time the party from which he received his appoint- 
ment is removed from power, and he is turned out by the in- 
coming administration. As he owed his appointment to polit- 
ical influence, so he is liable to summary dismissal from the 
same cause. There are few persons so entirely helpless as the 



SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 335 



Government clerk who, after a service of eight or ten years, finds 
himself suddenly displaced. In most cases the customs of soci- 
ety seem to require that he should live close up to his salary, to 
say nothing of the so-called " voluntary " assessments which are 
the bane and disgrace of our civil system — assessments which 
he will find to his cost to be not voluntary, but the most imper- 
ative of obligations. The position of clerk in any of the depart- 
ments of Government is one which, taking all things into ac- 
count, is among those to be least recommended to an aspiring 
and capable young man. The inducements at the outset are 
not great, and, besides the uncertainty, it gives slight promise 
for anything better. 

Having learned a trade, one needs to exercise due care as to 
the location in which to practise it. The mere fact that in a 
given locality the members of any particular profession are com- 
paratively few in proportion to the entire population is no evi- 
dence that this would present a favorable opening. In some 
cases the requisition for any particular industry is determined 
mainly by the physical conditions of climate and natural produc- 
tions. A millwright would find nothing to do where there is no 
water-power, or a miner where there is no iron or coal, no gold 
or silver. But in more numerous instances this is determined 
by the characteristics of the general population, and, to a very 
great extent, by its mere density. The inhabitants of cities re- 
quire some things which the rural population do not care for, 
many things which they do without, or make, after a fashion, 
each family for itself. Wherever society has had time to fairly 
organize itself, a paucity of persons engaged in any particular 
industry may indicate that this is not a profitable one in that 
locality. A comparison of the distribution of some industries 
that might in themselves be carried on in any locality presents 
some instructive features. 

Table XXIX. shows, for the entire United States and for 
each of the eleven principal States, the ratio between the total 
population and the number of persons occupied in fifteen of the 
leading mechanical industries. Thus, in the entire Union there 
are 290 persons to one blacksmith; in Alabama there are 610; 



336 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



in California, 184; in New York, 252. In the whole Union 
there is one printer to every 690 persons ; in New York there is 
one to every 300; in Virginia, one to every 1820; in Alabama, 
one to every 3860, and so on. 



TABLE XXIX.— DISTRIBUTION OF TRADES IN THE UNITED 

STATES. 



States. 


Total Number of Population for One Person of Each Trade. 


cc 

£ 

w 
"o 

5 


m £ 


. 

— tlx 

ci 
O 


'SI • 
— w 

6 


2 

M 

.2 11 

'z s 



00 









CD 

— 3 


CD 

HQ 

'5 

3 


= £ 

51 


1 


— co 
= u 

is a> 

E"S 

O "Z 

¥ 


3 


pa 
m 2 

1— 1 ZJ 

'— f 


OD 
CO 


CD 

O 

O 


Alabama . 
Cal 


610 
184 
532 
335 
234 
309 
252 
219 


1,751 
189 
1,320 
612 
129 
563 
190 
290 
1,040 
1,693 
1,820 


6,500 
628 
4,070 
1,639 
1,625 
985 
426 
570 
2,008 
3,119 
1,905 


412 
95 
305 
146 
97 
172 
102 
107 
296 
280 
183 


6,132 
1,024 
4,221 
855 
837 
850 
710 
456 
1,895 
3,187 
1,891 


8,586 
1,563 
5,263 
1,673 
658 
899 
580 
595 
2.938 
15,454 
1,310 


9,163 
760 
3,102 
843 
962 
903 
953 
873 
2,640 
2,010 
2,152 


2,423 
474 
2,202 
1,425 
521 
850 
313 
425 
1,832 
2,245 
1,322 


1,803 

189 
1,230 
445 
196 
428 
213 
298 
877 
931 
707 


1,169 
1,581 
1,029 

831 
1,417 

847 
1,182 

811 

883 
1,447 

600 


2,710 
260 
1,672 
514 
333 
511 
198 
280 
1,598 
1,614 
1,351 


3,860 
888 
2,190 
812 
S57 
692 
300 
687 
2.309 
1,693 
1,820 


580 
91 
390 
180 
90 
185 
490 
97 
514 
637 
311 


7,240 
758 
5,690 
1,354 
1,280 
1,232 
602 
960 
3,494 
3,133 
2,990 


8,417 
2,728 
4,895 

19,812 
2,627 

18,376 
4,333 
3,110 
9,353 
5,644 
1,512 


Georgia . . 
Iowa .... 
Maine . . . 
Missouri. . 
New York. 
Ohio 


Texas . . . 
Virginia. 


565 
324 


All States. 


290 


258 


825 


134 


920 


1,027 


1,167 


498 


371 


939 


390 


690 


120 


1,172 


3,216 



The States selected contain nearly one-half of the population , 
of the Union, and each of them may be considered a fair repre- 
sentative of several others closely connected with it by geograph- 
ical position and general characteristics of society. Thus, Maine 
represents New England; California the Pacific States; New 
York the Northern, and Virginia the Middle Atlantic States ; 
Ohio the older and Iowa the newer of the Western States, and 
so on. There is a marked dissimilarity in the distribution of 
mechanics in the several groups, but a similarity quite as marked 
between the States of the same group. The ratio of mechanics 
to the population is much the largest in New England and the 
Pacific States, and much the smallest in the Southern States ; 
and in the remaining groups it is somewhat larger in the older 
than in the newer States. 

This shows that the general distribution has conformed it- 
self to the present local requirements. If it could be presumed 
that the existing conditions of society would remain as they are, 



SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AXD MANUFACTURES. 337 



there would be no doubt that the States in which slaver}' formed 
a distinctive feature of society would offer very slight induce- 
ments to the mechanic and artisan as compared with other 
sections. But the whole structure of Southern life is being 
rapidly reconstructed, and the new developments must greatly 
increase the demand for the products of mechanical industry, 
It is not merely, nor even mainly, that the colored people will 
not content themselves with what measurably satisfied them in 
their former condition. The augmented demand for the pro- 
ductions of the mechanic will come at least, in the outset from 
the other quarter. The farmer and planter will not be content- 
ed with the kind of dwelling which satisfied the aspirations of 
his fathers, nor with the furniture which corresponded with those 
comparatively rude dwellings. 

Why, for example, should the resident of Georgia be worse 
housed than the resident of Iowa? The area and population 
of the two States do not differ greatly, but Iowa has more than 
11,000 carpenters and joiners, while Georgia has less than 
5000, and Ohio, with twice the population of Tennessee, has 
nearly six times as many carpenters to build her houses. The 
same holds good in regard to masons. Georgia has only one- 
third as many as Iowa ; Tennessee, one-sixth as many as Ohio. 
So, also, with the painters and paper-hangers, who decorate the 
exterior and interior of our dwellings. Taking; the whole Union 
together, one of these does the work required by 390 inhabi- 
tants; but in California there is one for every 260, and in Ohio 
one for every 198; and there is no complaint that these avoca- 
tions are overcrowded. In Virginia there is only one house- 
painter to every 1351 of the population; in Georgia, one to 
every 1672; in Alabama, one to every 2710. 

We imagine that the demand for more mechanical industry 
in these Southern States will manifest itself at first most decid- 
edly in those branches which pertain to building, for the reason 
that these must be carried on upon the spot, while the products 
of many trades can be brought from a distance. It is not to be 
expected that the requirements for increased mechanical indus- 
try will be very suddenly apparent ; but, upon a survey of all 

19 



338 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



the conditions, it is every way likely that the most promising 
openings lie in those sections where the ratio of artisans to the 
population is below the general average. Where it is greatly 
above the average it may be reasonably assumed that the sup- 
ply treads hard upon the fully developed demand ; but where 
the number falls greatly below the general average, without any 
permanent natural reason, it may be presumed that an increased 
demand will spring up. 

But there are certain exceptions to this general principle. 
Thus the trade of a printer will inevitably be mainly carried on 
in large towns. Books and great journals will always be chiefly 
printed in the principal cities : a very sparsely peopled section 
cannot support even its local newspaper and jobbing office. 
Such trades as that of the dyer, the jeweller, the engraver, the 
photographer, the bookbinder — all indeed which produce arti- 
cles of taste and luxury rather than of convenience or necessity 
— will inevitably be concentrated in cities and towns instead of 
being diffused through rural neighborhoods. The engineer will 
find occupation only w r here there are engines to be run, and the 
machinist in localities where there are machines to be construct- 
ed or repaired, and consequently where the necessary materials 
and appliances, such as iron, brass, coal — perhaps water-power — 
are readily accessible. 

In some industries — as in the manufacture of agricultural 
implements, of carriages and cars, of sewing-machines, of fire- 
arms, of clocks and watches, etc. — a number of separate trades 
are combined to produce a single article ; and these trades are 
concentrated into a single establishment, which forms the nu- 
cleus of a town, and not unfrequently constitutes a town of itself. 
Such establishments, in common with all other manufactures, 
involve matters for special consideration. The most obvious 
feature of them is, that most of the work is performed by ma- 
chinery; and, in so far as this is the case, the most dexterous 
workman may become a mere attendant upon the machine. 
One workman comes to be the attendant of but a single kind 
of machine, and all that he can learn of his trade can be speed- 
ily acquired. There will, indeed, be some few persons required 



SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 339 



who have special skill in doing something which machines can- 
not as yet perform, and these may receive exceptional pay; but 
they are few when compared with the whole number, and the 
general rates of wages approximate more and more to those of 
operatives in cotton and woollen mills, which, as already shown, 
are decidedly below the average of mechanics in general. 

Every artisan should be to some degree a man of business 
also. If he have an enterprising spirit he will not be apt to con- 
tent himself with remaining a mere employe, but will wish to go 
into business for himself, and thus keep in his own hands that 
portion of his earnings which would otherwise rightfully go to 
his employer ; and, if at all successful, he will himself become an 
employer, having other workmen under him. The earnings of 
this class of artisans do not appear in our tables and in the Cen- 
sus Report under the head of " wages," but are included in the 
balance of the " values of products " which remains after deduct- 
ing the " wages paid " and the " cost of materials." These mas- 
ter mechanics, if at all successful, of course gain much more 
than the average of their respective crafts, and usually more 
than the most skilful of those who remain employes ; and the 
greater number of those who become even moderately wealthy 
belong to this class. 

Employers must of necessity be few in comparison with the 
whole number of artisans, and the ratio is constantly decreasing. 
During the period from 1870 to 1880 there was scarcely a per- 
ceptible increase in the number of t; establishments," although 
the number of workmen increased about 30 per cent. Taking 
all establishments together — from those having not more than 
two or three, to the great factories, each having hundreds and 
even thousands — there were, in 1870, about eight workmen to 
one employer; in 1880, nearly eleven to one; and there is no 
reason to doubt that the ratio of the number of employers to 
employes will grow smaller and smaller in the future. The 
great establishments gradually " eat up" the smaller ones. 

At first view this change appears to be one to be deprecated. 
It does not seem to be well for the community that three men 
should be made considerably the poorer in order that one man 



340 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



may become very much the richer. But, on the other hand, it 
may be said that the great establishments crush out the smaller 
ones, only because they turn out as good or better products at a 
cheaper rate ; and so the great mass of the community is bene- 
fited by the change, and they who lose by it are few in compar- 
ison with the ones who gain. Those who take this view of the 
case point to the undeniable fact that — leaving out of view the 
very poorest classes, who could not well be much poorer than 
they are — the great body of the community are better off than 
they formerly were ; they are, upon the whole, better housed, 
better clothed, better taught, and certainly not worse fed. But 
whether the change is, in all respects, for the better or for the 
worse, it is inevitable. Great establishments will produce more 
cheaply than smaller ones, and men will buy where they can buy 
the cheapest. The best that any individual can do is to con- 
form himself to what he cannot avoid. 

What, then, are the essential conditions of success in those 
departments of productive industry which are now under consid- 
eration ? 

First and foremost are skill and energy. Competition is so 
great that whoever enters upon such a career must not only 
bring to his work ceaseless activity, but much thought and fore- 
casting. The manufacturer, of whatever degree, must be con- 
tinually on the alert to know what improvements are making 
or likely to be made in the processes employed in his business : 
he cannot afford to lag behind in the race. If he be able to 
originate improvements — to be an inventor as well as an appro- 
priator of the inventions of others — he cannot, unless otherwise 
incompetent, fail of success. We are indeed told that the real 
inventors of great improvements rarely reap the rewards of 
their genius. This is even partially true in a less proportion 
of cases than is assumed, and is wholly true only in those ex- 
ceptional cases where the inventor lacked some other important 
requisites for success. 

The inventor is not the man who conceived the first crude 
idea, and then from any cause failed to develop it to the proper 
extent, even though that crude idea be essential to the perfected 



SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 341 



invention ; but the one who puts the conceptions of others as 
well as his own into a practical shape. James Watt, not 
Solomon de Caus or the Marquis of Worcester, was the true 
inventor of the steam-engine. Robert Fulton, not John Fitch, 
or any other man of the scores for whom the honor has been 
claimed, was the inventor of the steamboat. George Stephen- 
son, well styled "the Father of Railways," was the inventor 
of them, although what he did was simply to " marry the track 
to the locomotive," both of which, although in a rude form, 
he found ready for his use. It is rare, indeed, that an in- 
vention is completed at once ; in most cases it is gradually 
developed by slow steps ; and not unfrequently he who might 
have been the inventor has failed to become so because he 
lacked the persistency, or perhaps the means, to perfect his first 
conceptions. But making all due allowance for failures from 
all causes, it will be found that the real inventors of any great 
improvement have in most cases reaped high rewards. True, 
many others have shared very largely in these rewards, but they 
were the men who had the sagacity to perceive the value of 
some invention which they themselves could never have origi- 
nated. 

For a man of native inventive genius there is no avenue 
to success so promising as that of the exercise of this faculty. 
There is no reason to suppose that the field for inventions in 
any one department of industry is half occupied. The records 
of the patent-office tell a different story, and will continue to tell 
it. How far, for example, are we from applying the possibilities 
of electricity as a motive-power ? One caution may not be out 
of place. It is wiser to employ one's time and energies in per- 
fecting a few inventions — or even one — than in half perfecting 
many. The profit lies in the completed invention, not in its 
original and partial conception. This subject will be more fully 
considered in another chapter. 

The highest requisite for success — which virtually includes 
very many — is Honesty, involving much more than the mere 
absence of positive cheating, or even of what are euphemisti- 
cally styled " tricks of the trade." No man who aims at success 



342 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



can afford to play any such tricks. Even were there no higher 
considerations, they are sure to be found out. In the very 
broadest acceptation of the terms, " Honesty is the best policy." 
As far as any success in life worthy to be so called is concern- 
ed, it is the only true policy. Any apparent success gained by 
other means is a bane and a disgrace to the acquisitor. The 
articles which one makes should be good of their kind ; if the 
best of their kind, so much the better for the producer. In any 
case they should be just what they profess to be. Not only 
should the maker refrain from representing them to be other than 
they are, but they should not be made to represent themselves 
to be what they are not. " Let the buyer look out for himself " 
is a maxim of questionable morality as commonly understood. 
The buyer will be quite sure to "look out" for himself, and 
when he finds that he must also " look out " for the seller he 
will be apt to make his purchases elsewhere. 

It behooves the manufacturer to establish not merely an un- 
impeachable personal character, but an unimpeachable character 
as a manufacturer — that is, in order to attain high success he 
must acquire a high character for his goods. Such a character 
is emphatically a plant of slow growth — it is a work of time; 
but, once attained, it is a permanent possession. There are 
few species of property of more pecuniary value than a " trade- 
mark," which has come to be recognized as a guarantee for the 
quality of the articles sold under it, and there is no kind of 
property the exclusive right to which is more sedulously guard- 
ed by law, and the infringement of which is more certainly pun- 
ished. Better, as far as money is concerned, steal a man's purse 
than pirate his trade-mark. As well forge his signature to a 
note of hand as counterfeit his peculiar trade-mark upon wares of 
your own. And the law wisely takes a very liberal view of the 
right which it has created in a trade-mark. An evident imita- 
tion, calculated to deceive even the unwary, is a violation, to be 
restrained or even punished, as well as a palpable counterfeit. 

An established name for any article, or " brand," for any par- 
ticular species of it, is valuable in two ways. It commands a 
higher price, if the manufacturer chooses to ask it, than would 



SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 343 



otherwise be paid. As a matter of fact, however, such estab- 
lished manufacturers do not find it to their interests to charge 
for their wares a price greater than that for which others could 
make the same goods. An exception to this would probably 
be made in most cases in which there is a patent for the man- 
ufacture, not merely a trade-mark to identify the articles man- 
ufactured. Their advantage lies rather in the increase of sales 
than in the enhancement of prices for the goods above what 
is required for a reasonable profit. The purchaser buys these 
goods in preference to others, simply because the name of the 
manufacturer is a warranty for the quality of the goods. Other 
manufacturers who produce wares equally as good must, in or- 
der to effect sales to any amount, sell at somewhat lower prices 
until they have likewise acquired an equally high reputation. 

Instances without number might be adduced of the pecuni- 
ary value of such a reputation. Perhaps the Collins axes, the 
Ames shovels, the Cooper glue, and the Brewster wagons, are 
no better in themselves than the best of those of other manu- 
facturers ; but then acknowledged reputation of itself gives them 
a wider and therefore a more profitable market. There are 
publishers of books whose imprint upon a volume is accepted 
by the public as a warranty that it is of high value in its class. 
The fact that a work is issued by such publishers will of itself 
insure a sale at once which the same work might never reach 
if issued by a publisher who still had his reputation to make ; 
just so in the case of an author who has won a reputation. A 
poem by Longfellow or Tennyson or Whittier, a novel by 
Black or Reade or Frances Hodgson - Burnett, a history by 
Bancroft or Greene or Lossing, a school-book by French or 
Willson or Swinton, finds purchasers at once, when bearing 
their names, which it would not have found for a long time, 
if ever, had it appeared anonymously. It required twelve years 
to find purchasers for an edition of five hundred copies of 
" Nature," the first book, and by many held to be the best, of 
those written by Emerson, then an unknown author, while of 
his later works thousands were sold on the day of publication. 

But such a reputation, though difficult to gain, is easy to. 



344 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



lose, and when impaired is hard to regain. There can be no 
more short-sighted policy than for one whose wares, be they 
what they may, have acquired a reputation to suffer their char- 
acter to deteriorate. One cannot go on very long trading upon 
the capital of a past reputation. It must be kept up — " the 
mill never grinds again with water which has passed." One 
instance will serve as an example of the care with which 
some manufacturers find it to their interests to guard their 
business character: A leading establishment produces goods 
in solid silver and in plated ware, each kind equally character- 
ized by artistic design and workmanship, and the two kinds 
cannot be distinguished one from the other except by cutting 
into them. Each kind bears its distinctive trade-mark, showing 
which it is, and, moreover, the same pattern is never used for 
cup or fork or spoon for both kinds of ware. It happened upon 
a time that by some accident a quantity of silver was wrought 
into the plated form, and the manufacturers themselves could 
not distinguish which was which. They therefore sold the 
whole of both kinds as plated ware, and those who happened 
to get the silver articles reaped the benefit of the accident, while 
the manufacturers bore the loss. 

It is not very long since our manufacturers w T ere accustomed 
to make up certain goods after foreign patterns, and put foreign 
labels upon them, so that they were sold, at least to the con- 
sumers, as imported goods. In the case of woollen, cotton, and 
silken goods, it is believed that this semi -fraudulent practice 
has gone almost entirely out of use. Manufacturers have found 
that they can produce nearly all of these goods of a quality no- 
wise inferior to those of their European competitors ; and they 
are setting themselves strenuously at work, and with ample 
success, to establish a reputation for their own goods under 
their own special trade-marks. If a customer fancies that Brit- 
ish or French cloths must of necessity be better than corre- 
sponding American ones he can gratify his fancy by paying an 
advanced price. But the chances are more than even that the 
goods have nothing imported about them except the label, and 
that is most usually affixed, not by the manufacturer, but by the 




A SOUVENIR. 
See Note 23. 



SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 347 

not over-scrupulous tradesman. So superior, indeed, are some 
of our standard cotton goods to those of the British manufact- 
urers that large quantities of these goods, woven at Manches- 
ter, are exported to the East, stamped as the product of New 
England mills. 

Sardines have long been put up on the coast of Maine, but 
until quite recently no one ever saw an American sardine for 
sale. The boxes all bore a French label. This might be ex- 
plained so long as it was supposed that olive-oil only was fit 
for making sardines, and that olive-oil only was used in France 
for this purpose. But the case was changed when it became 
known that our cotton-seed oil was largely substituted for olive- 
oil in Europe. It is not altogether certain that the one is not 
as good as the other for this purpose, but it is clear that the 
cotton-seed oil is not converted into olive-oil by a voyage across 
the Atlantic and back. American sardine-packers are begin- 
ning to understand that the true way to compete with their 
French rivals is to equal or excel them in the quality of the 
article, and to sell it honestly for just what it is. So now we 
find American sardines sold as such. 

The same is coming to be the case as regards articles such 
as pickles, preserves, canned vegetables, fruits, and the like. 
Some wines and liquors are doubtless among the last articles 
of American product which will be sold as imported. But 
when it is borne in mind that the chances that every bottle of 
champagne or port or sherry or brandy which is actually im- 
ported is a factitious compound, or one more or less largely 
adulterated, it matters little on which side of the ocean the fraud 
is perpetrated. The less one uses these articles, the more sure 
he will be of not being imposed upon. 

To sum up the main conditions for success in the direction 
now under consideration : 

First. Choose well the particular avocation in which you are 
to engage, having special reference to your own qualifications, 
mental as well as physical. If you are of delicate frame, the 
trade of a blacksmith or carpenter is not for you. If your fingers 
are greatly deficient in suppleness, and in celerity of movement, 



348 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



the craft of a compositor or engraver is not the one for you. If 
you happen to be color-blind, do not try to become a painter. 
If there be no special disqualification, then, of all the occupa- 
tions open to you, select the one which promises to pay best. 
If, for any reason, or even for no reason which you can definitely 
assign, you have a liking for any particular trade, that one, other 
things being equal, should be chosen. If you are fond of read- 
ing, that is a good reason for becoming a printer ; if you have a 
natural mechanical turn, you are specially fitted for a machinist, 
a cabinet-maker, or a millwright; and all the more so if you have 
an inventive genius. The inventor who cannot with his own 
hands make, at least, a model of his invention labors under a 
serious, though not an insuperable, disadvantage. 

Second. Make yourself a thorough master of your trade, in- 
cluding the use of all the machinery and other tools used in it ; 
but do not so confine yourself to it as to render yourself incapa- 
ble of doing anything else. No one handicraft is sufficient to 
exhaust all the capacities of any one man. You will be the bet- 
ter painter for being able to handle the saw ; the better joiner 
for knowing how to use the brush ; the better machinist for ac- 
quiring the use of the pencil. 

Third. Having learned your trade, whatever it may be, look 
well for a location in which to exercise it. It is as important to 
know where to do a thing as how to do it. Do not become so 
enamored of your present abode as to refuse to leave it for a 
better one ; nor so given to change as to seek it merely for its 
own sake. Of course, the healthfulness or unhealthfulness of a 
place is a great reason for or against choosing it. Upon this 
point more will be said hereafter. 

Fourth. Be on the alert for opportunities to better your con- 
dition. Look for them, for it is not often that they will come 
unsought, or that accident will throw them in your path. It is 
very right and proper to be " always contented with our present 
condition," provided always that is the one we are best fitted to 
fill. But it is by no means certain that the condition in which 
one finds himself is the one in which Providence designed him 
to remain. The true condition which Providence designs for a 



SUCCESS IN MECHANICS AND MANUFACTURES. 349 



man is the best honest one to which he can honorably attain, 
and the work of which he can honestly perform. To George 
Washington it may have seemed at a time that the lot of a 
land - surveyor was the one divinely appointed to him : and 
he would certainly have been a very good surveyor. Richard 
Arkwright seemed to be called to no better vocation than that 
of a barber, shaving rough beards in a cellar at a penny a chin, 
as his father had done before him. His inventive faculties were 
first turned to the folly of discovering a machine for perpetual 
motion. Yet Providence willed that he should not be content 
in his condition until he had invented the spinning- frame, in 
which lay potentially the manufacturing greatness of England 
and the wealth of the cotton -fields of America. Robert Ful- 
ton found himself a miniature-painter in early manhood, and 
with his best efforts only an indifferent one ; that, as we now 
see, was not the position in life with which he should have 
been satisfied. George Stephenson was a collier's helper, igno- 
rant of the alphabet until he had almost reached manhood. 
When, at thirty, he was made an engine-driver at ^"ioo a year, 
he thought that he was " a made man," and had reached the 
highest station to which Providence had assigned him; but 
Providence willed that he should not be content in that con- 
dition. Had Peter Cooper remained in any one of the various 
occupations to which Providence had apparently called him, we 
cannot well imagine how great losers we should have been. It 
is the men who have not been " content with their present con- 
dition," but have always yearned after and striven for something 
better, who have not only improved their own affairs, but those 
of the world. 

Fifth. To skill and industry, persistence and energy, with 
intelligence to guide them, add honesty in act and purpose. Be 
content with no present state, however good, so long as there 
appears to be something beyond attainable. However high you 
have climbed, let your motto and watchword still be, "Excelsior 
— yet higher ! " 



350 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



HE industries of trade and transportation differ from those 



X of agriculture and manufactures in this, that they are em- 
ployed not in producing articles of any kind, but in giving addi- 
tional value to those already produced by changing their loca- 
tion so as to render them more accessible to the consumer. 
There were, in 1880, in the United States, 1,810,256 persons en- 
gaged in trade and transportation. Of these 1,750,892 were 
males and 59,364 females; of both sexes there were 28,615 indi- 
viduals between the ages of ten and fifteen. The following is 
the classification of the Census Report, with the number of per- 
sons employed in each separate branch : 

Agents (371 females), 18,523. Bankers and brokers (133 females), 19,373. 
Boatmen and watermen (11 females), 20,368. Book-keepers and accountants 
in stores (2365 females), 59,790. Canal-men (48 females), 4329. Clerks in 
stores (23,722 females), 353,444. Clerks and book-keepers in banks (74 fe- 
males), 10,257. Clerks in express companies (8 females), 1856. Clerks in in- 
surance offices (53 females), 2830. Clerks in railroad offices (57 females), 
12,331. Commercial travellers (272 females), 28,158. Draymen, hackmen, 
etc., 177,586. Employes in warehouses (206 females), 5022. Employe's of 
banks, not clerks (21 females), 1070. Employes of insurance companies, not 
clerks (105 females), 13,146. Employes of railroad companies, not clerks (447 
females), 236,058. Hucksters and peddlers (2492 females), 53,491. Milkmen 
(326 females), 9242. Newspaper carriers (76 females), 3374. Officials and em- 
ployes of express companies, not clerks (11 females), 13,004. Officials and em- 
ploye's of street-railway companies (4 females), 11,925. Officials and employes 
of telegraph companies (1131 females), 22,809. Officials and employes of tele- 
phone companies (16 females), 9702. Officials of banks, 4421. Officials of in- 
surance companies, 1774. Officials of railroad companies, 2069. Packers (526 
females), 4176. Pilots, 3770. Porters, etc. (2524 females), 32,192. Sailors, 




TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



351 



60,070. Salesmen and saleswomen (7744 females), 32,279. Saloon-keepers 
and bartenders (1308 females), 68,461. Shippers and freighters (6 females), 
5166. Steamboat men and women (183 females), 12,365. Stewards and stew- 
ardesses (298 females), 2283. Toll-gate and bridge keepers (418 females), 
2303. Traders in agricultural implements (2 females), 1999. Traders in 
books and stationery (199 females), 4982. Traders in boots and shoes (186 
females), 9993. Traders in cabinet-ware (84 females), 7419. Traders in ci- 
gars and tobacco (534 females), 11,866. Traders in men's clothing (199 fe- 
males), 10,073. Traders in coal and wood (90 females), 10,871. Traders 
in cotton and wool (10 females), 2494. Traders in crockery, etc. (124 fe- 
males), 2573. Traders in drugs and medicines (120 females), 27,700. Trad- 
ers in dry-goods, fancy-goods, etc. (4060 females), 45,831. Traders in gold and 
silver ware and jewellery (41 females), 2305. Traders in groceries (3974 fe- 
males), 101,849. Traders in hats, caps, and furs (87 females), 4809. Traders 
in ice (12 females), 2854. Traders in iron, tin, and copper ware (62 females), 
15,076. Traders in junk (71 females), 3574. Traders in leather and hides (2 
females), 2382. Traders in liquors and wines (132 females), 13,500. Traders 
in live-stock (14 females), 12,596. Traders in lumber (8 females), 12,263. 
Traders in marble, stone, and slate (7 females), 1405. Traders in music and 
musical instruments (45 females), 1906. Traders in newspapers and periodi- 
cals (107 females), 2729. Traders in oils and paints (14 females), 1940. Trad- 
ers in paper and paper-stock (47 females), 1862. Traders in real estate (39 fe- 
males), 11,253. Traders in sewing-machines (99 females), 6577. Traders not 
specified (3746 females), 113,017. Undertakers (55 females), 51 13. Weighers, 
gaugers, and measurers (11 females), 3302. 

The foregoing list shows the distribution among the several 
branches of all the persons engaged in trade and transportation. 
The "traders not specified" are those who deal in a great vari- 
ety of articles, buying whatever they think they can sell. It will 
be observed that there are few of these occupations in which fe- 
males, to a greater or less extent, are not engaged. This opens 
up an inquiry which will be further pursued in the chapter on 
" Work for Women." 

Railroads. 

The first railroad operated by steam was opened in England 
in 1825; the first in the United States, in 1832. At the present 
time (1884) there are probably more miles of railroad in opera- 
tion in the United States than in all the rest of the world. They 
form the most important factor in our internal transportation, 
and have greatly modified our system of trade. At the end of 
June, 1880, there were in the United States 1146 railroad com- 



352 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



panies having roads in operation. There were 87,891 miles in 
operation, besides 19,722 miles projected. There were also 336 
new companies, having 21,307 miles of projected road. Between 
June, 1880, and January, 1882, 16,922 miles were completed, so 
that there were then 104,813 miles in actual operation. The fol- 
lowing will show the progress of railroad-building in the United 
States : 

In 1830 there were in operation 23 miles; in 1831, 95 miles; in 1832, 229 
miles; in 1833, 380 miles; in 1834, 633 miles; in 1835, 1098 miles; in 1836, 
1273 miles; in 1837, 1497 miles; in 1838, 1913 miles; in 1839, 2302 miles; in 
1840, 2818 miles; in 1841, 3545 miles; in 1842, 4026 miles; in 1843, 4185 
miles ; in 1844, 4377 miles ; in 1845, 4^33 miles ; in 1846, 4930 miles ; in 1847, 
5998 miles; in 1848, 5996 miles; in 1849, 7365 miles; in 1850, 9021 miles; in 
1851, 10,982 miles; in 1852, 12^908 miles; in 1853, 15,360 miles; in 1854, 
16,720 miles; in 1855, 18,374 miles; in 1856, 22,016 miles; in 1857, 24,503 
miles; in 1858, 26,968 miles; in 1859, 28,789 miles; in i860, 30,635 miles; in 
1861, 31,286 miles; in 1862, 32,120 miles; in 1863,33,170 miles; in 1864, 
33,908 miles; in 1865, 35,085 miles; in 1866, 36,801 miles; in 1867, 39,250 
miles; in 1868, 42,229 miles; in 1869, 46,844 miles; in 1870, 52,914 miles; in 
1871,60,283 miles; in 1872, 66,171 miles; in 1873, 70,278 miles; in 1874, 
72,383 miles; in 1875, 74,096 miles; in 1876, 76,808 miles; in 1877, 79,089 
miles; in 1878, 81,776 miles; in 1879, 86,497 miles; in 1880, 93,671 miles; in 
1881, 104,813 miles. 

Dividing the half century from 1832 to 1881 into periods of 
ten years, we find that from 1832- 1841 3420 miles of railroad 
were built; from 1842-185 1, 7447 miles; from 185 2-1 861, 20,304 
miles. The civil war seriously checked railway-building, but it 
was resumed with increased energy upon the restoration of peace, 
and from 1862-1871 were built 28,997 miles; from 1872-1881, 
44,503 miles. In 1881 were completed 1 1,142 niiles, against 7144 
in 1880, and 4721 in 1879. 

The total cost of building the railroads of the United States, 
up to June 30, 1880, was $4,1 1 2,367,1 76, or $47,387 per mile. 
The cost of equipment was $418,045,458; other items, such as 
buildings, telegraph lines, etc., brought the whole permanent 
investments up to $5,182,445; or, including all cash assets, to 
$5,536,419. The capital stock paid in was $2,613,606,264; the 
debt, funded and unfunded, was $2,812,116,296; thus, the total 
capital paid in and borrowed was $5,425,722,560. The gross 



TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



355 



income, from all sources, was $661,295,391; the expenditure, for 
all purposes, including the interest upon debts, was $541,950,795 ; 
leaving, for net income or profit, $119,344,596, or 4.57 per cent, 
upon the capital stock. From this, dividends amounting to 
$70,550,342 were declared, $48,794,254 being retained as sur- 
plus. 

But about one -fifth of the railroad capital is invested in 
companies which earn no dividends ; that is, their income is 
not sufficient to more than pay the interest upon their debt 
and the running expenses. There were reported 542 com- 
panies, with a capital of $510,538,018, earning no dividends. 
The remaining 623 companies, with a capital of $2,103,068,246, 
declared dividends of various amounts, from 1 per cent, up to 
20 per cent., the average of these for the entire United States 
being 6.32 per cent. 

These figures, taken together, show clearly that, as a whole, 
the capital in railroads has not as yet been profitably invest- 
ed. Immense fortunes have been made by a few persons by 
this means, but in very many cases they have been gained 
by buying up, at low rates, the stock of unpaying companies, 
and holding it until the roads began to pay. A considerable 
portion of the original stockholders have lost by their invest- 
ments. Of the few fortunes that have been acquired, and the 
many that have been lost by speculations in railroad stocks, we 
do not here speak, further than to say that it is the height of 
folly for any man who has in his possession a moderate capi- 
tal, to risk it in stock-speculation of any kind. It is a species 
of gambling, and in all gambling operations the aggregate of 
losses must be greater than the aggregate of winnings. The 
losers, not the winners, pay the expenses of carrying on the 
game. 

It may, however, be reasonably presumed that the profits of 
railroad enterprise will be, upon the whole, much greater than 
they have heretofore been. There are few or no roads which, 
with their present equipment, could not do more business than 
they are now doing ; and as the country becomes more densely 
peopled the amount of business will increase in a greater ratio 



356 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



than the operating expenses, thus leaving a larger residue for 
profit. 

Railroad Employes. — The whole number of railroad em- 
ployes in 1880 was 418,957. They were thus distributed: General 
officers, 3375; general office clerks, 8655; station men, 63,380; 
trainmen (comprising 18,977 engineers, 12 A l 9 conductors, 48,254 
others), 79,650; shopmen (comprising 22,766 machinists, 23,202 
carpenters, 43,746 others), 89,714; trackmen, 122,489; all other 
employes, 51,694. The pay-roll for the year amounted to 
$195,350,013, an average of $466 per year. A few of them re- 
ceived very much more than this ; most of them considerably 
less. This average is probably about that paid to conductors. 
The wages earned by railroad employes do not differ materially 
from what is paid in similar employments in other departments 
of industry, being probably a little higher in the case of skilled 
labor, and a little lower in the case of unskilled labor. 

Passengers and Accidents. — The number of passengers 
(that is, of passages) was 269,583,340: the average length of a 
passage being 23 miles. That is, averaging the whole, every 
person in the United States made from four to five railway 
journeys a year, and rode a little more than one hundred miles. 
There were 8215 casualties — 2541 persons being killed and 5674 
injured. Of these 6348 (2174 killed and 4174 wounded) are 
reported to have suffered " through their own carelessness," and 
1802 (364 killed and 1438 wounded) "through causes beyond 
their control." Of those killed or injured, 4540 were employes 
of the roads, 687 were passengers, and 2988 were neither pas- 
sengers nor employes. From this it appears that each pas- 
senger, in travelling 23 miles by rail, runs one chance in about 
400,000 of being killed or injured ; and as there were 305 pas- 
sengers who suffered " through their own carelessness," each 
passenger runs one chance in about 715,000, in every 23 miles 
of travel, of being killed or injured " through causes beyond his 
control." The risk is very much greater for employes of the 
roads, of whom one in 90 was either killed or injured during 
the year — about one -half of them through no carelessness of 
their own. 



TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



357 



Canal Navigation. 

There are within the United States 2926 miles of navigable 
canals (including 411 miles of slack-water navigation), of which 
784 miles are in Pennsylvania, 749 in Ohio, 723 in New York, 
and 200 in Maryland, the remainder being in eleven other States. 
The cost of their construction was $170,028,636; their gross in- 
come, in 1880, $4,538,620; total expenditure, $2,954,156. Be- 
sides these there are about 2000 miles of abandoned canals, con- 
structed at a cost of about $44,000,000. It is not probable 
that any more canals will be constructed, except for the pur- 
pose of connecting bodies of slack -water navigation. Practi- 
cally, except in a very few instances, railroads have superseded 
canals for purposes of transportation. 

Steam Navigation. 

The United States has 5139 miles of "waters with a naviga- 
ble outlet, and subject to customs and inspection laws." Upon 
these, in 1880, were 5139 merchant steamers, having a tonnage 
of 1,221,206,093 tons, and valued at $80,192,495. The capital 
invested in them was $112,005,600, and their gross earnings 
amounted to $85,091,007, being 80 per cent, on the capital in- 
vested. Their crews numbered 53,843 persons (including 7032 
" roustabouts," or irregular hands, employed at low wages on 
the western rivers) ; the wages paid to them amounted to $25,451,- 
404, an average to each, including officers, crews, and rousta- 
bouts, of $409. The Census Report arranges these waters into 
ten groups, as follows : 

I. The New England States: Number of steamers, 463; tonnage, 118,553; 
value, $7,890,550 ; crews, 5645 persons ; average wages, $472 per year. II. 
The North-western Lakes : Number of steamers, 947 ; tonnage, 222,290 ; value, 
$13,918,925 ; crews, 9143 persons; average wages, $360. III. The Upper Mis- 
sissippi: Number of steamers, 366; tonnage, 83,918; value, $3,004,050; crews 
("including 2950 roustabouts), 7824 persons ; average wages, $282. IV. The 
Ohio: Number of steamers, 473; tonnage, 107,472; value, $5,661,500; crews 
(including 2000 roustabouts), 9090 persons; average wages, $313. V. The Mid- 
die States: Number of steamers, 1459; tonnage, 432,803; value, $2,851,550; 
crews, 17,268 persons; average wages, $510. VI. The Lower Mississippi : Num- 

20 



358 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



ber of steamers, 315; tonnage, 48,-303; value, $2,851,550; crews (including 
1696 roustabouts), 5655 persons ; average wages, $288. VII. Gulf of Afexico : 
Number of steamers, 126 ; tonnage, 41,610; value, $3,272,800; crews, 1919 per- 
sons ; average wages, $530. VIII. The South Atlantic Coast: Number of steam- 
ers, 266; tonnage, 30,833; value, $2,515,300; crews, 1886 persons; average 
wages, $448. IX. The Pacific Coast: Number of steamers, 319; tonnage, 97,004: 
value, $6,477,500; crews, 300S persons; average wages, 3650. X. The Upper 
Missouri: Number of steamers, 40; tonnage, 12,099; value, $402,300; crews 
(including 386 roustabouts), 1047 persons ; average wages, $288. 

The mercantile water-craft of the United States, of all de- 
scriptions, in 18S0, was: Steamers, 5139; tonnage, 1,221,206; 
value, 580,192,495. Sailing Vessels, 16,820; tonnage, 2,366,132; 
value, 859,152,950. Canal-boats, 8871; tonnage, 1,253,688; 
value, 58,273,255. Barges, 5033; tonnage, 1,331,562; value, 
56430,562. Flats, 2072; tonnage, 220,690; value, $1,286,020. 
Wharf-boats, 145 ; tonnage, 86,390 ; value, $385,100. Hulks, 
46; tonnage, 7638; value, $64,425 — Totals: Vessels, 38,656; 
tonnage, 6,487,309; value, $155,784,709. 

Telegraphs and Telephones. 

At the close of the census year 1SS0 there were 77 tele- 
graphic companies in the United States, but the principal lines 
were practically consolidated into the " Western Union," which 
performed fully three-fourths of the whole telegraphic service. 
The entire capital stock was put down at $67,901,255 ; gross 
receipts, $16,696,026 ; expenses, $10,062,921 ; leaving net receipts, 
56,633,105. But since the date of the census there has been 
a large increase in the telegraph business in every respect. 
The Census Report makes the whole number of officers and 
employes 22,809, but many of these were employed only a part 
of the time, the average number being 14,928. The total wages 
paid amounted to $4,866,128, or an average of $326 per year. 
The operators numbered 9661, of whom about one-eighth were 
females. Since then there has been a large increase, the females 
now constituting about one-fourth of all persons engaged. The 
males receive from $25 per month, for boys and beginners, up 
to $100, by a few, the average being 5 75 per month. The 



TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



359 



female operators receive from $25 to $65 per month, the aver- 
age being $45. The telephone companies had, according to 
the tables of the Census Report, 1 197 "officials and employes," 
but an additional statement brings the number up to 3338. 
The rates of wages are essentially the same as stated above. 

It will be seen that telegraph operators receive wages consid- 
erably above the average rates paid to artisans. It is an occu- 
pation which requires some special qualifications. In addition 
to intelligence, the operator must have a sensitive physical or- 
ganization to start with ; the sense of hearing must be acute. 
The accomplished operator often reads the message by the 
mere " click " of the machine, without even looking at the vis- 
ible signs which are produced upon the slip. Great manual 
dexterity is indispensable, and consequently the hand especially 
needs to be thoroughly trained. It might be supposed that the 
more delicate organization of woman would give her a marked 
advantage over man in this avocation ; but experience has not 
thus far justified this anticipation : the best female operators, 
we are told, do not equal in efficiency the average of males. 

It is quite certain that the telegraphic business will be ex- 
tended in a ratio much greater than that of the increase of pop- 
ulation, and there is no reason to anticipate that the supply of 
accomplished operators will exceed the demand for their ser- 
vices. So much depends upon the accurate performance of 
their duties, that the few great telegraphic companies who have 
absorbed nearly the whole business cannot afford to employ any 
but the most reliable operators, and the probability is that their 
salaries will increase rather than diminish. It is, therefore, an 
avocation which commends itself to the consideration of those 
who have the requisite mental and physical qualifications for 
pursuing it. 



360 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

GENERAL REQUISITES FOR MERCANTILE SUCCESS. 

'HILE it is no doubt true that a very large proportion of 



V V those who have attained competence and wealth have 
done so in some of the various departments of commerce and 
trade, it is equally true that the proportion of those who fail in 
doing this is greater than in almost any other department of 
enterprise or industry. To be assured of this, one needs only 
to read over the regularly published lists of bankruptcies, or to 
call to mind those within his own personal knowledge who have 
" failed " in business. But we have always before our eyes those 
who succeed, while those who fail of success are apt to pass from 
our remembrance. 

The undeniable truth is, that the mercantile profession has 
become, more than almost any other, overcrowded ; and this for 
many reasons. To a person of an indolent nature it seems a 
much easier thing to stand behind the counter and sell some- 
thing which another has made than to make it himself. Then, 
again, it has come — perhaps we should say had come — to be 
looked upon as more " genteel " to buy and sell than to produce. 
A salesman in a shoe store was looked upon as in some way 
superior to a shoemaker. The son of a farmer was too apt to 
grow weary of farm-life, and to hire out as a clerk in the neigh- 
boring village, with the purpose of " setting up a store," in time, 
upon his own account, or to betake himself to the city to seek 
his fortune. A few who had special gifts for trade — and per- 
haps special opportunities — succeeded, and the success of ev- 
ery fortunate one was proclaimed upon every house-top in the 
neighborhood from which he had migrated. And, moreover, 





HALL AND STAIRCASE. 
See Note 25. 



GENERAL REQUISITES FOR MERCANTILE SUCCESS. 363 



there was a lurking idea that little more was needed for a trader 
than to be tolerably well-looking and well-mannered, and to have 
a fair share of " gumption." 

Through these and many other causes business has been 
overdone everywhere, and most of all in the great cities. Only 
a small proportion of the " clerks " of whom one catches a 
glimpse through the shop-windows can, in any case and at any 
period, go into business for themselves ; and these chances are 
growing notably fewer and fewer in comparison with the increase 
of population. The constant tendency is towards the concentra- 
tion of trade in fewer and fewer hands. Only a certain amount 
of goods of any kind can be sold in any locality ; and one great 
establishment which absorbs the business once done by ten, 
does it by superior ability or greater capital ; for this, whether 
we regret it or not, there is no remedy. Customers will go 
where they are most likely to find what they wish and where 
they can buy cheapest. The proprietor of the great store has 
four advantages over his more humble competitor: i. He will 
likely be a better judge of what will suit the tastes or needs of 
his customers. 2. He can offer them a larger assortment from 
which to choose. 3. Purchasing in larger quantities, he can 
buy cheaper. 4. His sales being so much larger, he can afford 
to sell at a less percentage of profit, and so more cheaply. 

Most persons who begin as clerks must remain so, and there 
are really few more hardly worked or more poorly paid than 
clerks in a city store ; and yet in no employment is there a 
greater proportion of applicants for " situations." If a man ad- 
vertise for a clerk or a book-keeper he will be overwhelmed 
with answers. If he advertise for a workman of any kind the 
answers will be much fewer. This shows clearly that there are 
many more fairly competent clerks and book-keepers than there 
are situations for them to fill. 

Still there are and will be, as there have been, not a few suc- 
cessful merchants and traders ; and some of the chief requisites 
for success may be pointed out. First and foremost we place 
honesty. Credit is the very life-blood of trade. No man can 
reasonably attain permanent success as a merchant unless his 



364 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



word is as good as his bond. He needs to be in good credit, 
not only with those from whom he buys, but with those to whom 
he sells. Indeed, of the two, the latter is of the greater impor- 
tance. He should so conduct his business that his representa- 
tion shall be held as a sufficient guarantee that his goods are 
just what he sells them for ; and he can gain this only by 
making himself well acquainted with the articles in which he 
deals. If he buys poor wares he cannot sell good ones. His 
first business is to study the markets — both the buying and the 
selling ones. He must sell cheaply if he is to sell at all ; and if 
he buys dearly he cannot sell cheaply, except at a loss. 

The successful merchant must be sagacious and forecasting 
— he must not take it for granted that because some particular 
kinds of goods which have been and are in demand will con- 
tinue to be so ; the more especially is this the case in respect 
to articles the demand for which depends, to a great extent, 
upon the changes and caprices of taste and fashion — otherwise 
he will some day find his warehouse filled with unsalable goods. 
He must forecast the changes in taste, and be ready to meet 
them, not waiting to find them out by sad experience. 

He must be enterprising, but his enterprise must be gov- 
erned by discretion. He must not assume that because business 
is good this season it will surely be so the next. If he sell a 
part of his stock for less than it costs him, that loss comes out 
of the profit on the remainder. If he sell at cost, so much of 
his business brings no profit. It is better to sell a little less 
than he might have sold than to buy a little more than he can 
sell. In the one case he loses only the profit which he might 
have made ; in the other case he loses the entire cost of what 
he cannot sell at all. The loss upon one piece of unsold or 
unsalable goods will counterbalance the net profit upon many 
pieces which have been sold. But he should steer clear of 
the other extreme. He should not assume that because the 
last year was a dull one, the next will be like unto it. He 
should compare the present with the past one, and from the 
comparison judge of the future. If the present be better or 
worse than the past one he must search for the cause of the 



GENERAL REQUISITES FOR MERCANTILE SUCCESS. 365 

change, in order to ascertain whether they are temporary or 
permanent. 

This inquiry will not unfrequently take a wide range, in- 
volving the whole scope of production, finance, and even of party 
politics. The demand for all goods varies with the general 
condition of the country. If the labor market is disturbed, if 
there be "strikes," say among the iron-workers of Pennsylvania, 
these workmen earn less money and so have less to lay out for 
clothing; the manufacturers sell less of their goods, and begin 
to produce less or reduce the rates of wages ; the operatives, 
earning less, have less with which to buy the products of others, 
and so on. If the harvest be bad, the farmer has less grain to 
sell and must buy less of manufactures. A drought in the 
grain-fields of Kansas or Illinois is felt in the mills of Lowell, 
in the founderies of Pittsburg, and behind the counters of New 
York. It stands the merchant in hand to keep his eye upon all 
these things. He has as much to do as any other man can have 
with the movements of "the trades," the weather- reports of the 
Signal - office, and the bulletins of the Agricultural Department. 
Dry reading enough they may seem to be, but he will soon 
find them " interesting " to him in more senses of the word 
than one. 

And, finally, the merchant, if he be a wise man, will main- 
tain a due relation between the business which he undertakes 
and the amount of the capital which he can command. It 
matters not whether this capital be in money of his own or in 
credit, or, as is most likely to be the case, partly in both. Many 
a merchant has become bankrupt, losing in the end hundreds of 
thousands of dollars, simply because at some critical and unex- 
pected moment he could not at once command a few thousands 
to meet his current engagements. Assignments and receiver- 
ships, even when they are expected to be only temporary, will 
speedily eat up a great estate. A forced closing-up of any busi- 
ness will be pretty surely a losing one. 

" But," it may be asked, " must a young man never enter 
upon mercantile business unless he have a capital already se- 
cured ?" To this we answer, Yes or No, according as the word 



366 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



is understood. Capital he must certainly have, of some sort, 
but that capital may consist not in cash, but in credit — that 
is, not in what he actually has, but in what he can do. It 
may consist in unusual mercantile knowledge and capacity, 
added, of course, to recognized integrity. It may, and often 
does, consist in his being a perfect "judge" of some important 
article. 

We have in mind a young man who has just been invited to 
a partnership in a large importing house where he had been a 
clerk. Their business consisted in importing a special article 
of manufacture produced in Germany. One day, not three 
years ago, his employers told him that they wished to send 
some one abroad to purchase these goods and to arrange for 
the manufacture of particular styles for their exclusive use. " If 
you only understood German," they said, " you would be just 
the man." To their surprise, the answer was, " Oh, I speak 
German." The fact was that, six months before, he had learned 
that the firm had such a project in mind, and he set himself 
down to learn German, devoting to it every spare hour. He 
was sent, and acquitted himself so successfully that he went 
again the next season. Upon his return the firm, knowing his 
value and being quite sure that others in the trade would soon 
find it out, offered him a partnership, although he had only a 
few hundred dollars which he had saved from his by no means 
large salary. His special knowledge of a single article was a 
full equivalent for many thousand dollars in cash. 

Of course such young men are not very common, and per- 
haps it is not often that such an opportunity offers itself. But, 
after all, we fancy that such possible opportunities are less un- 
frequent than are the men capable of anticipating them and 
prepared to seize upon them when presented. Good roads lead- 
ing to success outnumber the men who can be found to travel 
on them. 

Thus far we have chiefly considered the ways to success in 
life which are or may be traversed by great numbers. We have 
taken up, one by one, the prominent occupations, and have en- 



GENERAL REQUISITES FOR MERCANTILE SUCCESS. 367 

deavored, by a copious array of statistics and figures, to show 
what is the present condition of these industries as compared 
with the past, and what may be reasonably anticipated of their 
prospect in the years to come — where they can be most success- 
fully carried on, what are the present and prospective pecuniary 
inducements which they offer, and to indicate in a general way 
the essential personal requisites for at least fair success in each 
of them. The general conclusion from this wide survey is, that 
in this country, as it is, and as it is likely to be for many years 
to come, every man of good physical constitution and fair intel- 
lectual capacity may, by industry, prudence, and forethought, 
secure all the comforts of life and not a few of those conven- 
iences and luxuries which were in by-gone ages attainable only 
by the comparative few, and this within the beaten tracks of 
avocation and employment. 

But there are still higher summits of success in life to be 
reached through those narrower paths, which can be traversed 
only by those who have natural or acquired faculties of a higher 
order than are possessed by the average of men. These paths 
to high success often run side by side with the well-trodden 
ways, or are a continuation of them, beginning where the others 
leave off. A few of these we shall proceed to point out with 
some detail in succeeding chapters. 



368 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

HOUSE -BUILDING AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 

OME limit the term "architect" to those who design and 



kZ? construct costly and ornate buildings — public or private — 
temples and state -houses, palaces and mansions. We style 
every man an architect who plans and erects any building, for 
human use and occupancy, in such a manner that it will, in a 
good degree, subserve the purposes for which it was designed. 
For competent architects of every class there is a wide and 
ever-widening field among us ; of incompetent ones there are 
enough and to spare. We have costly churches, court-houses, 
and public halls built with such disregard of the laws of acous- 
tics that the voice of the speaker can scarcely be heard by half 
the auditors. A public building or school -house capable of 
being properly warmed and decently ventilated is rather the ex- 
ception than the rule. To find a great public building in which 
the space within the walls is fairly utilized, one must look far 
and wide. If one is in search of glaring examples of all these 
defects he need not look farther than to the New York Custom- 
house, Post-office, or City Hall. If it had been the purpose of 
the architects that the occupants of these buildings should be 
half-frozen in winter, half-roasted in summer, and half-stifled at 
all seasons, they could hardly have done more than they have 
to accomplish their designs. 

Nor is it much better with our dwellings. In cities espe- 
cially, what with architects and plumbers, few even of the most 
costly dwellings are fit for human occupancy. Foul exhalations 
from the sewers pollute the most gorgeously furnished parlors, 
dining-rooms, and bedrooms. The architect has thought mainly 





MODERN DWELLINGS. DESIGN NO. 2. 
See Note 26. 



HOUSE -BUILDING AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 371 



of producing what he considers a handsome exterior, and the 
interior arrangement has been little cared for. Windows have 
been put where they were thought to give a picturesque aspect 
to the house, with little care as to whether they would properly 
light and ventilate the halls and rooms. The plumber has so 
fitted his pipes and traps that they will not do their work when 
in order, and will not stay in order at all. Nowhere is this 
worse than in our hotels, flats, and tenement- houses, where 
large numbers live under a single roof. Not a few of the most 
imposing " apartment " houses are only a little less faulty in 
these essential requisites than the poorest "tenement" houses. 
Diseases arising directly from malaria or foul air are rife among 
the very rich hardly less than among the very poor. Puny chil- 
dren are to be seen clad in velvets as well as in rags. 

Bad architecture and imperfect plumbing work less evil in 
rural than in city dwellings, simply because the architect and 
the plumber have had less to do in their construction and fitting 
up; but it is rare to find a dwelling-house in a village or on 
a farm which is not wofully deficient. Where there is space 
enough and means enough so to build that all the apartments 
might be large and airy, the bedrooms are contracted into clos- 
ets, and the doors and windows are placed with little care for 
the requirements of ventilation. "Any place will do to sleep 
in " has come to be an axiom in practice if not in speech. Nine- 
tenths of our population spend fully half their lives in-doors ; a 
majority spend at least three-fourths of it thus, in their homes, 
their workshops, and places of business. Taking the seasons 
together, even the farmer is in the fields fewer hours than in the 
house. 

No man who has ever built a house for his own occupancy 
but will confess that, were he to build again, he could do it bet- 
ter and at less cost. He has bought his present knowledge by 
experience, and at a high price. It would be better for him to 
buy the knowledge of others than to gain it by his own experi- 
ence. Before he begins to build he should make up his mind 
pretty nearly as to what he wants, and how much he is able or 
willing to expend for it; then, if he is wise, he will call in an arch- 



372 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



itect — if he can find a competent one — to carry his wishes into 
effect. Most probably the architect will tell him many things of 
which he had not thought. Some of his own objects may be 
impracticable, some not desirable, and for some, though good 
in themselves, better ones may be substituted. A man may 
know very well what kind of coat he wants, but he will get one 
more to his liking by employing a tailor than by trying to make 
it for himself. So he may know what he wants in a house, but 
a competent architect will carry his wishes into effect much bet- 
ter than he could do it himself. Of course it is better to employ 
no architect at all than to have an incompetent one, just as it is 
better to have no physician at all than to call in a quack. 

As we grow in wealth we require more of comfort, conven- 
ience, and elegance ; and as we become educated we look more 
judiciously for the means of supplying our wants. Nowhere 
is this more apparent than in providing better homes. Every- 
where there are men who want houses better planned, as re- 
gards their comfort, convenience, and health, than they them- 
selves can design or build. This long-felt want is only partially 
met by books upon domestic architecture, although some of 
these are of decided value. But the best book can give only 
general hints and indications. There are still wanted practical 
architects, who can adapt these hints to individual cases, and 
supply others to meet special conditions, and who, more than 
all, can carry out these conceptions in brick and mortar, stone 
and wood, according to all the varying conditions of site, 
climate, and material to be used. We have an American 
climate, American building materials, varying in different sec- 
tions, and American habits and modes of life. We may, if we 
please, construct our churches and public buildings after models 
which have come to us from other times and other lands ; but 
we need, and in time shall have, a distinctive domestic architect- 
ure, varied in details to suit the various sections of our wide 
land. And for this architecture there must be architects who 
have learned not only what is to be done, but how to do it. 

Very much is required of such an architect. It is not 
enough that he shall be able to draw a design which looks 



HOUSE-BUILDING AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 373 

well upon paper, with its pretty windows and oriels, its porches 
and verandas, its picturesque roof and chimneys. The win- 
dows must not only be capable of being opened and closed, but 
they must be so placed as to give light and air to the rooms 
— they are for the rooms, not the rooms for them. Picturesque 
roofs should be discarded if they will not shed rain and snow, for 
usefulness should not be sacrificed to neat appearance. Beau- 
ty is useful in and for itself, and that beauty which results from 
harmony of proportion is attainable in the humblest as well as in 
the most pretentious dwelling. An ugly design is all the uglier 
the larger the scale upon which it is carried out. Many a de- 
sign which pleases the eye is displeasing when rendered into 
stone or brick or timber. 

Things which are to be used are beautiful only when they 
serve their uses. A monument is made only to be looked at; 
a house is made to live in or to work in. Every building 
should therefore indicate by its very exterior the purpose for 
which it is to be used. A handsome church would be an ugly 
dwelling-house; a school -house would be an ugly one if it 
looked like a manufactory or a warehouse. A dwelling should 
be adapted to the climate. The steep-pitched roof adapted to 
the snows and rains of Vermont would be useless in California. 
The broad, encircling verandas of a Mississippi dwelling would 
be out of place in Maine. 

The materials of which a house is to be built must mod- 
ify nearly every detail of the construction. One design can be 
well carried out in wood, and not in brick or stone ; another in 
brick and not in wood. Probably stone will be used to any con- 
siderable extent only in public buildings and large mansions. 
Country dwellings, in many districts, may continue to be mainly 
of wood. In towns, and in those sections of the country where 
lumber is becoming dear, brick will be the usual material ; but 
whatever may be the material, the house should never be made 
to appear other than what it is. Nothing can be more absurd 
than to paint a brick wall and mark it off into squares to simu- 
late blocks of stone. No eye is deceived by this, and every eye 
instinctively protests against any attempt to cheat it. 



374 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



It is a comparatively easy task to plan a house for an equa- 
ble climate, for there are only one set of conditions to be taken 
into view. But in a very large part of the United States the 
winters are almost arctic and the summers almost tropical ; and 
if the house is to be occupied as a permanent residence all the 
year round it must be adapted to both extremes of weather, as 
many things desirable in one season would be objectionable in 
the other. The broad verandas, so cheerful in the Gulf States, 
are no less pleasant in a New England summer ; but nothing is 
more cheerless than such a veranda when the dead leaves of au- 
tumn cover it, or when it is heaped up with the snows of winter. 
On the other hand, the contracted windows and doors and pas- 
sages which winter comfort suggests would render the house 
close and uncomfortable in summer. The small sitting-room, 
which has so cosy an aspect at Christmas, becomes almost un- 
endurable in midsummer. The architect who plans a dwelling 
to be lived in all the year round must compromise between 
what he would have done had he been planning only for sum- 
mer or for winter, the features most appropriate for either , pre- 
dominating according as the summers or winters predominate 
during the twelvemonth. Any man may have a summer suit 
and a winter suit, but few can have a summer house and a 
winter house : one residence must do duty for all seasons. 
Common-sense lies at the foundation of all true architecture. 

The color of a house has not a little to do with its attrac- 
tions. Nobody, of course, would dream of painting a stone 
house, but would leave it of its own natural color, whatever 
that might be : a few years' exposure to the weather will tone 
down the color of any stone to a pleasant tint. To paint brick 
is hardly less absurd. It is generally assumed that a dwelling 
of wood should be painted for the sake of preservation, but 
there is far less advantage in this than is generally supposed. 
Painting may cover up bad material, but will not make it dura- 
ble. If any part of a building needs protection it is the roof. 
Mr. Holly, an excellent architect, says : " Although painting is 
used to protect the shingles against the weather, it in reality 
promotes their destruction ; for the shingles, in their natural 



HOUSE-BUILDING AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 



375 



state, allow the water to run free, whereas paint fills up the 
cracks or watercourses, and forms ridges which prevent its 
escape ; consequently it remains in the wood." If this be true 
of the roof it must be no less so with the walls. But painting 
is commonly used for ornament. The same writer also says : 
" Shingles, if left to themselves, will naturally assume a color 
which improves every year by exposure, while paint not only 
appears unnatural at the outset, but looks worse and more rusty 
as each season passes." This, too, is as applicable to boards 
and joists as to shingles. The unpainted, boarded walls of a 
house will gain a pleasant color by time as well as its unpainted, 
shingled roof. 

But if paint is to be used, the color should be judiciously 
chosen, and the architect should make the color a part of his 
design. If he have an educated eye he will set himself firmly 
against white, which is always glaring and makes an ugly spot 
in the landscape. Any one of a hundred warm tints — neutral, 
not positive — may be chosen ; say French gray, buff, olive, or 
a delicate shade of salmon. Next to white the kind of dirty 
yellow so prevalent a few years ago is to be tabooed. For the 
common use of this color that very clever landscape-gardener, 
Mr. Downing, must be held responsible. He said : " Pluck 
from the ground the roots of the grass, and the color of the 
earth thereon should be the color of the house." His disciples 
took him at his word, and covered the country with their mud- 
colored structures. The color was ugly, and everybody felt it 
to be so, Mr. Downing to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Whatever be the material or color, no wall should present an 
unbroken mass of tint ; the trimmings should be darker than 
the rest, but there should be no startling contrasts. More than 
is generally conceded rests upon the external color, and the 
architect should not leave the selection of it to the house-painter. 
The color of a dwelling is in itself of minor importance, but 
upon it depends very much the general impression which the 
house makes upon the spectator; and a building which makes 
a pleasant impression at 'first view is the best advertisement for 
the architect. 



376 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



The foundation and the roof are points which call for the 
utmost care of the architect. The best edifice raised upon a 
bad foundation will soon go to pieces, and no house with a 
leaky roof can be a habitable one. The roof, moreover, is, more 
than any other part, exposed to the rough usage of the elements 
— to rain and snow, to winds and sun. Hardly less important 
in a cold climate is the chimney. Smoky chimneys may be 
fairly counted among the minor miseries of human life. 

But the sphere of the architect lies quite as much with the 
interior as with the exterior of the house. In the country or in 
a village, where there is ground enough, the architect has much 
scope for choice in the matter of site and exposure, and he may 
gain the required interior room by merely enlarging the ground- 
plan ; but in a city, where the plot is necessarily limited, he 
works within narrower limits. Upon a rectangular lot, the 
length of which is four or five times its breadth, he has to con- 
struct a house covering as much of the area as is any way con- 
sistent with leaving a "yard" large enough to admit air and 
light from the rear — light and air can be admitted only by 
windows in the narrow front and rear. Three stories, including 
the dormer roof or attic, are all for which provision need be 
made in a rural house ; twice or three times as many are be- 
coming the necessary rule in most of our large cities. 

The deficiency in the quantity of light which can be ad- 
mitted through the windows possible in such a front and rear 
may be partially made up by gas-light, but there must be 
further provision made for ventilation. As the vitiated air can- 
not be adequately carried off through the walls, vents must be 
made for it through the roof, and mainly through the chimney. 
It has come to be an axiom among all who have given attention 
to sanitary science, that, in a city house at least, no room is fit 
for the occupancy of a human being — whether for living, work- 
ing, or sleeping — which has not a chimney -flue kept open all 
the while. These chimneys and their flues must form an in- 
tegral part of the house. If they are badly planned, the fault is 
well-nigh irremediable. A proper chimney-cap will make a good 
chimney better, but the most scientific cap cannot make a good 



HOUSE-BUILDING AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 377 



chimney out of a bad one. Chimneys and flues may be regarded 
as the crucial test of the ability of an architect. If his plan is 
deficient here the fault is all his ; whereas, if the plumbing does 
not come up to the standard the fault may, in part at least, be 
shifted upon that convenient scapegoat, the plumber, who in 
any case has enough sins of his own to answer for. 

In most European cities the use of gas is almost unknown 
in private houses, and the water-works are not contrived so as to 
introduce constant running water into the various apartments. 
The contrary is the rule with us. Our mode of building also 
makes it almost universal that the privies and water-closets 
should be a part of the house, and under the same roof. In a 
very large proportion of houses these indispensable adjuncts 
are located, one over the other, in the successive stories or flats, 
and not unfrequently without due provision for discharging the 
exhalations. The capable architect will always place this struct- 
ure at the rear end of the building, so that every closet shall 
have a window opening into the outer air. In any case, a 
ventilating shaft from top to bottom should be held absolutely 
indispensable. The architect should regard the plumbing of a 
house as one of the most essential parts of his work, and the 
client, if he be a wise man, will leave the direction of this 
to him. 

One of the most important parts of an architect's duty is to 
estimate the cost of carrying out his design. The conscientious 
architect will ascertain as nearly as possible how much his client 
is disposed to lay out upon his house, and will work out the de- 
sign accordingly. A man who has only five thousand dollars to 
lay out upon his house does not want a ten-thousand-dollar de- 
sign. In many cases, and in large towns most frequently, the 
actual work of building will be done by contract — most likely 
by different persons : the mason-work by one, the wood-work by 
another, the plumbing by another, and so on. If one of them 
fails to do his part at the time fixed upon, the others, in their 
turn, will be behind time. The architect must draw up the con- 
tracts in such a manner that each of them can be properly exe- 
cuted in accordance with its terms. If his client fails to get his 

21 



378 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



house properly built, and in a proper time, it will be small sat- 
isfaction to be able to learn whose fault it was. The duties of 
the architect thus involve a knowledge of many specialties. He 
needs to be an artist, an engineer, a sanitarian, a lawyer, and, as 
a prerequisite to all, an honest man. 

Now, will a profession pay which makes such large require- 
ments ? The question resolves itself into another : " Is there 
now, and is there likely to be in the future, a demand for this 
kind of work ?" The statistics which are scattered all through 
this volume give a direct answer to this question. Not only is 
the country, as a whole, growing richer, but the number of per- 
sons who pass from straitened circumstances to competence is 
increasing rapidly from year to year. The man who five or ten 
years ago broke the virgin sods in Iowa or Kansas, or started 
an orange -grove in Florida or vineyard in California, is to-day 
a thriving farmer. His requirements for home comforts have 
kept equal pace with his means of gratifying them. He has 
not lived all these years shut up in the cabin which he hastily 
put up. He has read books and periodicals, which tell him of 
a home for himself and his family quite different from that which 
he occupies. In his journeyings he has seen many such homes, 
even if only in passing by them on the railroad. He perceives, 
also, that to build such a dwelling requires a knowledge and 
practical experience which he himself has not acquired, and 
probably could never acquire ; but he has learned, also, that 
there are men whose aid he can command, who can do for him 
just what he wishes done, and the nearer an architect is to him 
the sooner will he be likely to make requisition for his services. 

Again, the whole of that vast region, so varied in its re- 
sources, which we denominate " the South," has entered upon a 
new stage of development. More Southern men than ever be- 
fore go North, with eyes open to see whatever of good may there 
be found. More men from the North and from Europe seek 
homes in the South, carrying with them the ideas of their former 
homes. In an early chapter of this volume the characteristics 
of this interstate and international migration, as shown by the 
Census of 1880, have been set forth. The next Census will tell 



EBONY CABINET. 




CHEST IN CARVED OAK, INLAID WITH COLORED WOOD. NORMAN WORK, I55O. 

See Note 27. 



HOUSE-BUILDING AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 381 



a quite different story. The North will have far more emigrants 
from the South ; the South far more emigrants from the North 
and from Europe. This interchange will be of advantage to 
both sections, but, in a material point of view, most especially 
to the South. 

The domestic architecture of the rural districts of the South 
will be quite another thing than it has heretofore been. And, 
moreover, the South is coming to be far less exclusively rural 
than it has been. The great plantations, each an almost isolated 
community, are breaking up into farms ; hamlets are growing up 
into villages ; villages into towns ; towns into cities. Manufact- 
ures are springing into life. The Lowells and Manchesters of 
Massachusetts and New Hampshire will soon have their coun- 
terparts and rivals in Georgia and Alabama. City life will of 
course demand an urban architecture in the South, as well as in 
the North and the East. 

Architecturally, the South is as yet a new country; but in the 
sections which are older in this respect the demand for compe- 
tent architects is by no means fully supplied. The truth is, that 
the greater part of our city buildings have been flung up with- 
out any competent architect, and the extent to which they are 
now being demolished evinces that their tenants and owners are 
becoming aware of their defects. Owners of property have be- 
gun to find out that it pays to build dwellings with some regard 
to the convenience and health of their occupants, and that this 
cannot be done except by the aid of an architect. The growth 
of knowledge in this respect has increased the number of archi- 
tects, but in nowise in proportion to the call for them. Every 
really good building which is put up is an incentive to the erec- 
tion of others ; and the improvement in architecture, strictly 
so-called, opens up avenues for success in other occupations con- 
nected with the economy of domestic life. Some of these we 
proceed to point out : 

" There is no great smoke without some fire," and " any 
stick is good enough to beat a dog with," are two proverbs 
which should be read together. The plumber has come to have 
a bad name among all owners and tenants. He could not have. 



382 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



got such a name without having measurably deserved it, and 
now that he has got it he has to bear the blame of many things 
that do not belong to him. It cannot be denied that there are 
few departments in which so much scientific knowledge and 
practical skill is required, and in which so little has been called 
into practice. It must be borne in mind that it is not fifty 
years since gas was first introduced as a means of lighting our 
houses, and not much more than half as long since water-pipes 
were at all common even in our city houses. Before that time 
architects had no occasion to take these things into account. 
The laws which govern the distribution and permeation of gas- 
es were practically unknown, for no one had any occasion to 
study them. That water in a pipe would rise to the level of its 
source, and would run off if an opening were made for it, was 
about the sum of the hydraulic and hydrostatic knowledge of 
the day. It is no wonder, when this principle had to be practi- 
cally applied in the thousand forms now demanded, that the 
grossest mistakes were common. 

We have insisted that the architect should take the whole 
matter of plumbing into the most careful consideration when 
making his design for a house. There is all the more need that 
this work should be faithfully done, because nowhere else is de- 
fective material or bad workmanship so hard of detection. A 
leaky joint or a flaw in a gas-pipe may not be found out until 
the whole apparatus has been put in operation, and not unfre- 
quently the evils are of such a nature that they are discovered 
only when too late. -Bad plumbing must, under all circum- 
stances, occasion expense and inconvenience, but its mischiefs 
lie far deeper, involving disease and death ; and not unfrequent- 
ly the cause of the evil is never suspected until its fatal con- 
sequences have appeared. Not a few of our most imposing 
residences are pervaded by the most offensive odors. Recourse 
is had to perfumes and fumigations, but these are wholly useless. 
The fatal effluvia are not destroyed by overpowering them by 
any perfume. Disinfectants, such as chloride of lime, carbolic 
acid, and iodine are not without their uses; and in some cases, 
as in hospitals and sick-rooms, they are indispensable for tempo- 



HOUSE-BUILDING AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. 383 



rary purposes. But the necessity for their use should be re- 
duced to the lowest possible limits. 

It should never be forgotten that disinfectants are only ex- 
pedients to meet a temporary and local emergency. Nothing 
will effectually remove the evil from a dwelling except you re- 
move the cause, and this deep-lying cause will always exist so 
long as the practical plumbing of our houses is left in incompe- 
tent hands. The trade of the plumber should be elevated into 
a profession. No person should be allowed to act as a master- 
plumber until he has passed a successful examination as an 
engineer. There is as much need that plumbers and gas-fitters 
should be licensed as that apothecaries should be. 

Practically, the arrangement of the heating apparatus of a 
house comes within the sphere of the plumber, and in large 
buildings it requires a great amount of scientific skill. When 
there is a steam-engine belonging to the establishment, the ex- 
haust steam, after having performed its office as a motive-power, 
offers a ready means for the solution of the problem of heating. 
Steam-coils, properly distributed, are beyond question the best 
mode of heating where they can be put in use, but the system 
is so costly, and complicated that it can be employed in only 
exceptional cases. It will find place in comparatively few pri- 
vate dwellings. The number of persons who will find lucrative 
employment in this direction will always be limited, although 
the few who succeed at all will attain high success. 

There has been a general and persistent decrial of the hot-air 
furnace. The main objection urged against it, which virtually 
includes most of the others, is that the heated air which it deliv- 
ers is deprived of its moisture, so that it becomes unfit for respi- 
ration. The attempt to obviate this by placing vessels of w r ater 
in the room to be heated is altogether inadequate ; but a com- 
petent plumber will so arrange the furnace that the heated air 
shall pass over a water-surface of sufficient area to impart to it 
the requisite degree of moisture before it is delivered from the 
register. The advantages of a properly constructed furnace are 
obvious. It is really only a close stove upon a larger scale, and 
so located that the heat produced by it can be utilized to advan- 



384 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



tage. The halls of a large house can be kept at a temperature 
not greatly below that of the inhabited rooms, so that one need 
not pass at once from a tropical to an arctic climate. Colds, 
and the long train of diseases springing from them, are occa- 
sioned not by the absolute temperature to which one is exposed, 
but by the sudden passage from one degree to another greatly 
different — it matters little whether from a cold to a warm or 
from a warm to a cold one. It requires much less fuel to supply 
one furnace than to keep up a number of stoves throwing out 
an equal amount of heat ; and, moreover, all the heat can, 
when desired, be directed into any part of the house. The fur- 
nace is an adjunct to the open grate, not a substitute for it. 
The architect who plans a house without providing for the 
warming of it, and the plumber who does not know how to 
carry out the plan, are alike incompetent for their work. 



HOUSEHOLD DECORATION AND FURNITURE. 385 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

HOUSEHOLD DECORATION AND FURNITURE. 

VERY excellent periodical has for its motto "Take care 



1~\ of the Beautiful, and the Useful will take care of itself." 
This seems to imply a distinction which we by no means admit 
between what is useful and what is beautiful. Whatever gives 
innocent pleasure is in itself, and for that very reason, useful, 
and just in the proportion that it gives pleasure. A picture is 
as truly useful as a mirror. A tastefully decorated house is 
much more useful than one untastefully furnished, although it 
should afford the same amount of shelter from the elements. 
The man who can best minister to the sense of the beautiful is 
the one who will meet with the highest pecuniary rewards. We 
propose to present some practical suggestions on this topic as 
applied to house decoration as distinguished from architecture. 

A pleasing arrangement of colors and forms is an important 
element in the pleasure which we derive from the most common 
surroundings of our daily life. If the walls of our chambers are 
of a gloomy color, they fill the rooms with gloom. If they are 
of garish or discordant colors, they act as a perpetual irritant, 
although we may be hardly able to tell why. Wall-papers afford 
a ready means of securing the result at which we aim in this 
respect. When we look at the kinds of paper which arrant 
stupidity inflicted upon us a few years ago, we cannot wonder at 
the revulsion which they excited. Anything — even a dead, un- 
meaning white — was better than that, and a slight, unvaried tint 
— blue, rose-colored, gray, or anything — was a positive relief. 
If they lacked something in pleasing, they were not positively 
displeasing. 




386 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



But now we are not driven to the alternative of choosing be- 
tween hideous wall-paper and none at all. True artistic taste 
and skill have been brought into play and have given us a wide 
range for selection. The designing of patterns for wall-paper 
has grown into a profitable branch of artistic industry, well 
worthy the consideration of those who are endowed with the 
requisite capabilities ; and so wide is the circle to which they 
address themselves that there is little fear that the paths of real 
merit will be overcrowded. There is inexhaustible scope for 
variety. No person of cultivated taste wishes all the rooms of 
his house to look alike. He feels instinctively that what best 
befits a dining-room does not best suit a parlor or a bedroom. 
He does not even wish all his bedrooms to look alike. It is 
becoming more and more usual to vary the aspect of the wall 
surface by breaking it up with a frieze at the top and a dado at 
the bottom, with an interspace between ; charming contrasts 
and harmonies of color may thus be attained. Thus the dado 
may be of an arabesque pattern in chocolate, relieved with dark- 
er shades — even with black, or black and gold. The frieze may 
be a running pattern in quite brilliant colors — say a vine and trel- 
lis-work in green, with red or purple or golden fruit ; or it may 
represent a series of living figures, as if moving in long proces- 
sion around the apartment. The intermediate space, or wall 
proper, may be treated in a hundred effective modes, but should 
always be less decided in tone than the frieze and dado. It can- 
not be denied that there is a tendency among artists to render 
these patterns too intricate, so that the eye wearies itself by at- 
tempting to follow the interlacing lines of the pattern. For a 
bedroom, where the cardinal idea is that of repose, simplicity of 
pattern should be sought for. Pictures show best against a 
light background, furniture and dresses against a dark one. So 
in a parlor, if there is to be any difference in tone, the dado 
should be darkest, the frieze the lightest, and the intermediate 
space of a general, neutral tone between the others. 

The ceiling is usually the most neglected or the worst abused 
part of the room. Plain whitewashing is perhaps the most com- 
mon mode of treatment. In a sleeping-room the eye rests upon 



HOUSEHOLD DECORATION AND FURNITURE. 387 

this quite as often as upon any other portion, and a dead white 
is more wearying to the eye than any color. If the ceiling is to 
be perfectly plain it should have some soft tint : a delicate blue, 
or rose -color, or a faint green are all unexceptionable. The 
other extreme is to overload the ceiling with heavy panellings 
and mouldings in plaster, which always look as if they were 
about to tumble down, and not unfrequently do so. Even worse 
than this is an exaggerated frescoed imitation of such work. A 
thing bad in itself is not so bad as a poor imitation of it. 

But the ceiling need not be undecorated. Indeed, there is 
no other portion of the room which is more susceptible of orna- 
mentation, or which requires it more. The walls, if left plain, 
must be broken by windows, doors, and fireplaces, and may be 
relieved by pictures, and the floor by furniture ; but the ceiling 
presents an entire surface visible at a glance. A flat design in 
color may be the leading feature, reaching to within a few inches 
of a border which surrounds it like a frame. Natural foliage is 
always appropriate for walls and ceilings, but with this differ- 
ence, that in walls the plant should be viewed from the side, and 
have «an upward direction, while for ceilings and carpeted floors 
it should be represented as lying flat or trailing. 

All the effects of which we are speaking are produced by 
color. Nature is the great colorist, and we have only to repro- 
duce, on our small scale, the happiest effects of what she has 
done on her large scale. Thus, the roots and trunk of a tree are 
dark ; the branches are clothed with foliage, rarely of a very pro- 
nounced color ; the blossoms, of all gay and bright hues, belong 
to the top. The tree corresponds to our room, with its dark dado, 
its middle-tinted wall-space, and its bright-hued frieze. Our ceil- 
ing represents the dome of the sky : blue, the color produced by 
distance and of itself giving the effect of distance, or with such 
other colors as the varying clouds assume. We may even go 
farther in our imitation of nature, and people our bright sky 
with flying birds or stud it with golden stars. All this pleases 
the eye and is true Art — indeed, it is true Art because it pleases 
the eye. Fortunately, we are not left, in decorating our ceilings, 
to depend upon the efforts of such painters as we may chance 



388 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



to find. Paper for ceilings is now to be had, designed and ex- 
ecuted with as much artistic feeling as is shown in any other 
wall-paper. 

The general effect of a room depends very much upon the 
way in which the windows and doors are treated. Their loca- 
tion and size rest with the architect as such ; their coloring 
to the house -decorator. The architect may have done his part 
well, and yet, as far as beauty is concerned, the decorator may 
spoil it. It is quite common to see doors and windows with 
their cases and trimmings painted white, even when the walls 
are dark. Now these are the emphatic parts of the room, and 
should be darker than the general tone of the whole. The 
cornices, architraves, and other trimmings, moreover, have the 
effect of frames, and should be darker still, but yet not as dark 
as the dado or base. White should not be used at all, even for 
the sashes. 

If there be any one thing upon which custom has set its 
sanctioning seal, it is that in a house of any architectural pre- 
tensions the fireplace should be of marble. Who ever saw a 
house advertised for sale or for rent in which " marble mantels " 
were not enumerated among the chief attractions ? Marble finds 
its proper place in the interior architecture of churches and 
palaces, where, fashioned by the sculptor's hand, it fulfils true 
artistic conceptions. W^ooden mantels satisfy the eye far bet- 
ter. Any one of our native hard-woods is appropriate : ash, 
maple, chestnut, or oak. A room otherwise in good taste is 
often spoiled by a mantel of white or black or variegated mar- 
ble, or by some " marbleized " imitation, worse even than an im- 
itation mahogany or rosewood door. 

Carpets are the prevailing weakness of an American house- 
wife. Whatever a woman may confess herself unable to do, it is 
not easy to find one who will endure even the hint that she cannot 
select a carpet. Possibly she may be qualified to do this, so far 
as quality is concerned ; but the carpet is essentially for deco- 
ration, or rather it is the foundation upon which the other dec- 
oration rests. The carpet is part of the floor; it is to be trod- 
den upon, and it should never suggest any unfitness for this use. 



HOUSEHOLD DECORATION AND FURNITURE. 



391 



This precludes all direct representations of fruits and flowers, 
of birds and beasts, of vases and medallions. A carpet of very 
light color is out of place and always unpleasing. The tone of 
color should be at least as dark as that of the darkest part of 
the walls, nor should there be any mass of color so decided 
as to force itself upon the eye. Perhaps the highest praise 
which could be accorded to a carpet would be that it was so ex- 
actly adapted to its place that one did not consciously look at 
it at all. 

For many reasons, and especially for sanitary ones, it is to 
be wished that carpets were much less used than they are. For 
all situations, as halls and staircases, where there is much tread- 
ing within a small space, they are out of place. At the best 
they hold dust, and are not easily kept clean, so that they are 
decidedly objectionable in bedrooms. It would be far better, 
instead of a carpet nailed fast and covering the whole floor, to 
have movable strips laid down before the fire, by the side of the 
bed, and in front of the dressing-table — that is, in the places 
most trodden upon. These could be taken up and swept in the 
hall or out-of-doors, thus doing away with a great deal of un- 
necessary dust. 

It needs but little consideration to perceive that the occu- 
pation of house-decorator — call him joiner, upholsterer, or what 
one will — presents numerous openings for higher capacities 
than are required for the artisan or mechanic. The designing 
of patterns for wall-papers, for example, has long given very 
profitable occupation to many persons in England and France, 
and we are not now obliged to look abroad for this manufacture. 
We now produce it in every way as attractive as any which is 
imported ; and the day, if not wholly past, is fast passing when 
it will be thought to be a recommendation of any article to say 
that it was produced in London or Paris or Berlin, rather than 
in New York or Philadelphia or Chicago. 

The sense of the harmony of colors, which lies at the foun- 
dation of all decorative art, is common to most persons — so far, 
at least, that they can appreciate the result when they see it. 
To know how to produce this result is what distinguishes the 



392 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



decorative artist. He must originally have this faculty in a 
higher degree than is common, but having it in a good degree 
it may be cultivated up to any point. The man or woman who 
attains to this cultivation need not fear that he will lack lucra- 
tive occupation or that the field will be exhausted. Few persons 
ever saw a room so decorated that they wished for one exactly 
like it : they want one as beautiful, but yet different. As well 
might the author or painter fear that when he had perfected 
one great work there would be nothing more for him to do, 
because everybody would want that and need no other. The 
truth is, that everything well and thoroughly done causes a 
demand for something better, or at least different ; and no one 
need give himself any fear that the end of advancement has 
come. The round earth may have its Ne phis ultra / but to 
possible human progress there is no finite boundary line upon 
which is inscribed " No more Beyond !" 

Decorative Furiiiture. 
By " furniture " we mean those appurtenances to a room 
which do - not form a part of the structure, but may be removed 
from place to place in it, or from one apartment to another. 
The furniture of a people is an index to its domestic life ; where 
this is universally scanty, or ill-adapted to its purpose, it is sure 
proof that the people have no homes in any high sense of the 
word. Their dwellings are merely sleeping-places, or refuges 
more or less temporary during inclement weather. The mo- 
ment that a dwelling becomes a permanent habitation the occu- 
pants seek to make it attractive by furniture and decoration. 
The absence of furniture does not of necessity imply a state 
of barbarism. The Greeks of old were a very highly civilized 
people, but they were not a domestic people ; they thought little 
of home-life, they lived out-of-doors, and while they adorned 
all public places with the grandest architecture and the noblest 
statuary, their houses were hardly thought of. Athens was a 
group of temples rising up from a mass of huts. The temples 
of the gods were not temples in our sense of the word — struct- 
ures in which to worship — but monuments at which to look. 



HOUSEHOLD DECORATION AND FURNITURE. 393 



The Parthenon and the Erechtheum were merely dark cham- 
bers, surrounded and surmounted by gorgeous porticos and 
friezes. The Romans had more of the domestic feeling : their 
idea of woman, though far below that of the Germans, was far 
above that of the Greeks. The wife of a Roman was not mere- 
ly his plaything, but was in a good degree his mate ; thus, hav- 
ing a home of his own, the Roman set himself to render it 
pleasant. 

Some of the excavations at Pompeii show what a refined 
Roman dwelling was. We can step into it to-day and see how 
it looked on that evening, eighteen centuries ago, when the fatal 
ashes from Vesuvius came down and buried it. Pity it is that 
these excavations also show another side of life, and reveal hab- 
its and manners from the very thought of which we shrink back. 
If one of our cities should be in like manner buried, and be ex- 
humed after the lapse of two thousand years, though not a page 
of writing were found, the people of the thirty-ninth century 
would be enabled to gain a clear idea of the home-life of the 
people of the nineteenth century from the very furniture of 
their dwellings. 

We propose to speak of furniture not — except incidentally— 
from an artistic point of view, but as furnishing means of profit- 
able employment to those who produce it. 

In our tables, chairs, beds, bureaus, household utensils, and 
the like, utility is the first consideration, beauty of form and 
color being a secondary one. A chair upon which one cannot 
sit with ease, a bed upon which it is torture to lie, a table which 
will not stand of itself and support what is meant to be placed 
upon it, a bureau the drawers of which will not open and shut, 
all violate the primary law of its being, and are fit only to be 
consigned to the fire, although all art- critics ring its praises 
and designate it by the loftiest of artistic names, or assign it 
to the most famous periods : Egyptian or Pompeiian, Gothic or 
Mediaeval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Louis Quatorze, Queen 
Anne, Eastlake, or what not. 

Durability, of course, is essential to utility ; so there must 
be sound materials and honest workmanship. The cabinet- 



394 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



maker has more opportunities than most men to slight his 
work. Paint and varnish and putty may be made to cover up 
bad wood and worse workmanship. It is inevitable that most 
of our furniture should be made in large factories, where machin- 
ery can be made use of instead of hand labor. The result should 
be better work instead of worse, as has been too often the case. 
We trust the time is pretty well over when the cheap and 
flimsy wares which have filled our furniture warehouses will find 
favor ; but that furniture-buyers, like others, have discovered that 
nothing is cheap which is not good of its kind. 

Beauty of material, form, and color is perfectly compat- 
ible with the perfection of utility, and there is a growing de- 
mand for both. Herein lie the opportunities for the attain- 
ment of that profitable occupation which we have in mind. 
The " Shaker " chairs found favor because they were really 
easy chairs, and were framed so as to hold together; men 
even perceived a kind of beauty in their intrinsically ugly forms. 
But we have come to perceive that ugliness is not essential to 
usefulness ; that a seat may be as easy and as durable as a 
Shaker arm-chair, and as pleasing to the eye as anything which 
an Eastlake could design. Our great manufacturers have dis- 
covered that their customers have also found this out, and have 
seriously set themselves to meet and even anticipate the demand. 
The designing of furniture has already begun to be a profitable 
employment. The result is, that one can now purchase really 
beautiful and well-made furniture, from the simplest chair or 
lounge or table to the most elaborate bureau, sideboard, or book- 
case, and at prices adapted to his means or inclination. 

Earthen -ware, or pottery, in one form or another, enters 
largely into the furnishing of our dwellings. Our most com- 
mon household utensils are made of burned clay ; the most 
beautiful articles for the ornamentation of our tables and the 
decoration of our mantels are primarily fashioned from this 
abundant and cheap material, and upon this is often lavished 
the utmost artistic skill. Glass -making is, in a wide sense, a 
branch of pottery. This subject forms the theme of the next 
chapter. 



DECORATIVE POTTERY, OR CERAMICS. 



395 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

DECORATIVE POTTERY, OR CERAMICS. 

ERAMICS, or pottery, is among the oldest of the arts, and 



V^/ is perhaps the most widely diffused of all. Excepting in 
extreme polar regions, where its exercise is impracticable, it 
would not be easy to find a land where the potter's art has not 
been and is not now practised. It seems to have been indige- 
nous everywhere, and everywhere to have been practised upon 
an extensive scale. The sites of ancient cities now uninhabited, 
on both continents, are often mere heaps of pottery, and some- 
times, as in ancient Troy, layer after layer of broken earthen- 
ware, of different characteristics, show that city after city has one 
after another grown up and decayed upon the same site, with 
long intervals between them. The frail works of the potter have 
survived all other creations. 

Clay is so easily fashioned into various forms, and when 
dried or baked so preserves those forms, that it was applied to 
many purposes for which other materials are now substituted. 
The oldest extant books were tablets of clay, into which the let- 
ters were stamped with a wedge-shaped tool, by means of which 
the so-called " cuneiform inscriptions " were formed. The pot- 
ters soon began to exercise their invention in giving ornamental 
shapes to their wares. Caricature is perhaps the earliest devel- 
opment of art, and grotesque forms are more common than any 
other. Our museums contain specimens of early pottery, from 
the most widely -separated regions, ugly enough to please the 
most inveterate collector or antiquarian ; and not unfrequently, 
as in Peruvian and Phoenician ware, these bizarre features are 
added to graceful forms. The adaptation of color is of very 




396 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



ancient date. The potter has it in his power to produce his 
effects by very simple means and with hardly any tools. Cam- 
eron, in the narrative of his journey " Across Africa," describes 
the .operation of a female potter whom he saw at work near 
Lake Tanganyika, in the very heart of Africa : 

" I was very much interested in watching a woman at her work. She first 
pounded with a pestle enough clay and water to make one pot, until she formed 
a perfectly homogeneous mass. Then, putting it upon a flat stone, she gave it 
a blow with her fist to form a hollow in the middle, and worked it roughly into 
shape with her hands, keeping them constantly wet. She then smoothed out 
the finger-marks with a corn-cob and polished the pot with pieces of gourd and 
wood, the gourd giving it the proper curves, finally ornamenting it with a sharp 
stick. I went to examine the work, wondering how it would be taken off the 
stone and the bottom shaped, and found that no bottom had yet been formed. 
But after waiting four or five hours in a shady place it was sufficiently hardened 
to be handled, and a bottom was then worked in. The pot held about three 
gallons. From beginning to pound the clay till one pot was put aside to dry 
occupied thirty-five minutes ; and providing it with a bottom might take ten 
minutes more. The shapes were very graceful and truly well-formed, many of 
them being like the amphora in the Villa Diomed at Pompeii." 

This primitive potter worked wholly by the eye and by the 
" rule of thumb," but she evidently had — most likely had inher- 
ited — what we have elsewhere styled an " educated hand." She 
apparently knew nothing of the potter's wheel, although that 
implement was used by Egyptian potters more than three thou- 
sand years ago. A few such pots, each costing the work of less 
than an hour, form almost the only household furniture of mill- 
ions of African dwellings. From this rude pottery there is a 
wide step to the artistic ceramic productions now within the 
reach of all. 

In our public museums and private collections there are few 
objects more attractive than ceramics. To those who have not 
the opportunity of visiting these, the recent works of Mr. Prime 
and Miss Young furnish a very satisfactory substitute. These 
books, with their profuse illustrations, not only afford a view of 
what had been done at the date of their publication, but give in- 
valuable hints as to the means employed, and to be employed, 
by those whose capacities and inclinations may lead them to 



TRENTON AND ITS POTTERIES. 




DECORATING-ROOM OF TRENTON POTTERY. 
See Note 29. 



DECORATIVE POTTERY, OR CERAMICS. 399 



turn their attention to this department as a remunerative em- 
ployment. 

" Ten years ago," says Mr. Prime, " there were probably not 
ten collectors of pottery and porcelain in the United States. 
To-day [1877] there are perhaps ten thousand. The exhibition 
in public museums of the fine works of ceramic art revealed, for 
the first time, to the American public the wealth of beauty which 
is in ' old china,' and now, in nearly every town and village in 
the land, more or less persons are ' collecting.' " There are, in- 
deed, " ceramio-maniacs," just as there are " biblio-maniacs," for 
whom the chief attraction of any work is that it is very old, 
very rare, or very odd, no matter if it is also very ugly and 
altogether useless ; and when we read of hundreds of dollars 
being paid for an antique cup and saucer or teapot, simply be- 
cause it is old and odd, we call to mind the old proverb touch- 
ing the facility with which a fool and his money part company. 
Mr. Prime — himself a most enthusiastic, but withal a most sen- 
sible, collector of ceramics — has some weighty suggestions in 
this regard : 

" Antiquity adds nothing to the value of a specimen, unless it has some his- 
torical or artistic value apart from its age. Beautiful art, of whatever factory 
the product, is valuable. Beautiful art of rare old fabrics is more valuable be- 
cause such specimens are sought for. But a beautiful work of an undistin- 
guished factory is worth more than a poor work of a renowned factory." 

But if the productions of the ceramic art had no wider use 
than to serve as harmless hobbies for mere collectors, they 
would have no place in such a volume as this, the object of 
which is purely practical. 

"Hitherto," says Mr. Prime, "America has been content to depend on 
Europe, China, and Japan for her supplies of beautiful pottery and porcelain. 
Within the last two years [1875-1877] an increased demand has been visible 
for the higher qualities of decorated porcelain. To meet this demand some 
of the New York merchants have employed foreign artists to decorate wares 
here, and admirable work has been produced. White porcelains are now im- 
ported and painted in New York, chiefly in the styles of foreign factories, no at- 
tempt at original patterns having been made. Occasionally are seen in the 
shops modern Sevres porcelains which have been decorated in New York, and 
cups and saucers of Limoges ware, prettily ornamented. These are the works 

22 



400 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



of industrious men and women, and are to be noted as among the first efforts 
in America in decorative ceramic art. As such they deserve hearty en- 
couragement." 

They have received this encouragement, and have received 
it because they have more and more deserved it. We have 
begun to do something besides importing white pottery and 
decorating it after foreign designs. There are potteries, espe- 
cially those at Greenpoint (near New York), at Jersey City, and 
at Cincinnati, where artistic and beautiful pottery is produced, 
and the designing of the wares and the decoration of them has 
grown up into a by no means inconsiderable branch of profita- 
ble occupation. Greenpoint plates, cups, saucers, and pitchers, 
and the Jersey City vases, show articles available for domestic 
use and ornamentation ; while such more elaborate productions 
as the Greenport " Century Vase " and " Keramose Vase " aim 
successfully at a higher mark. What was hope and prophecy 
only eight years ago has since then become fact and fulfilment. 
The ceramic art, as applied to household decoration, has come 
to be an important and growing industry. We are no longer 
forced to fall back upon the productions of the " old masters " 
for materials, and it may be confidently anticipated that the 
growing wealth and culture of the American people will offer 
inducements still more ample than are now furnished for the 
profitable exercise of the artistic faculty. 

But the one who seeks in this direction for a lucrative occu- 
pation must look wisely at his own capacities and must cultivate 
them to the utmost. He must acquire an education in indus- 
trial art. Fortunately the means for attaining this are coming 
more and more within the reach of all who wish to avail them- 
selves of them. To begin with, it has come to be felt that draw- 
ing should form a part of the instruction in our common-schools, 
or at least in all which rank above the primary grades, for the 
money-value of art is coming to be appreciated. A person who 
cannot make a drawing is hampered from the outset in the most 
profitable parts of many industries. It is not to be expected 
that every person can become an artist in the highest accepta- 
tion of the term, but any one who can be taught to write a 



DECORATIVE POTTERY, OR CERAMICS. 401 



legible hand can be taught to execute an intelligible drawing. 
Then there are schools of decorative art and of industrial art. 
Among the many and great obligations conferred by Peter 
Cooper upon the community the art department of the Cooper 
Institute is among the foremost. In this and in several other 
art-schools instruction of the most practical nature is given. 
The carpenter, the cabinet-maker, the machinist will find it of 
immense advantage to be able to make a design upon paper. 
We have already indicated some departments in which this is 
quite indispensable, such as in paper-hangings, ceramics, etc. ; 
the list might be extended almost indefinitely. Indeed, when 
we get beyond the bounds of the lowest branches of unskilled 
labor it would be hard to name any industry in which the ability 
to use the pencil will not often come into profitable exercise. 
Some of these special branches will be considered in the next 
chapter. 



402 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 



HESE branch out in every direction and touch upon every 



X sort of handicraft. We note the present condition and 
future prospects of some of the leading industries. We have 
already spoken of the employments of the draughtsman and 
designer, in so far as they are directly related to architecture 
and household decoration, we now consider them more espe- 
cially as applied to the illustration of books and periodicals, to 
the production of pictures to be reproduced and multiplied by 
the cunning hand of the engraver, so that instead of a single 
copy to be purchased by one person and seen by comparatively 
few there shall be many copies diffused among thousands and 
hundreds of thousands. 

With pictures as with books it has been found that the pub- 
lic, except in a few cases, is a more munificent patron than any 
one class of it. Only a few persons can live by ministering to 
the necessities or inclinations of the few, whereas very many 
acquire competence or wealth by serving the many. All our 
modern tendencies are in the direction of the popularization of 
art as well as of everything else. Here and there a great paint- 
er has also occasionally acted directly as a designer for the en- 
graver or other reproducer of works of art. Raphael drew 
cartoons for tapestry-workers; Albert Durer and Hans Holbein 
drew upon the wood, and even sometimes engraved their own 
designs upon the block. But it is only within our own days 
that painters of acknowledged power have to any extent turned 
their attention to this special branch of their art : those who 
have done this have found it to pay. Competent designers hav- 




THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 



403 



ing taken the field, competent engravers to interpret in black 
lines what they conceived in color have also sprung up, and the 
result has been that good pictures have become as plentiful 
as good books. The high artistic endowments requisite for a 
designer are but rarely bestowed, and the man or woman who 
possesses them need be at no loss in making this his avocation 
for life instead of considering it as merely a means of support 
while mainly occupied in producing other works. 

The engraver, it has been said, occupies to the painter 
somewhat the position which the printer does to the author. 
But this is only a partial view of the case. The engraver is 
more especially a translator of the work of the designer. He 
tells in another language what the artist has told in his own, 
and he, moreover, enables the artist to address a far wider 
audience. 

There are three methods of engraving, under one of which 
all are to be classed. These are not very happily designated as 
copperplate engraving, wood-engraving, and lithography. But 
metal plates have often been used for the execution of engrav- 
ings in which the lines stand out in relief, while wood might be 
used for engravings in which the lines are cut into the surface 
of the plate. 

Lithography is based upon the chemical law that oil and 
water will not mix, or, as it is sometimes expressed, "you can- 
not wet grease or grease water." The artist, with an oily pencil, 
or with a pen and an oily ink, makes a drawing, usually upon a 
slab of a particular kind of stone adapted to the purpose ; the 
whole face of the stone is rubbed over with a wet sponge, but 
the water will not hold upon the oily lines of the drawing ; then 
a roller covered with an oily ink is passed over the stone ; the 
ink adheres to the pencilled lines which have been drawn, but 
will not touch the wetted parts of the stone. A sheet of paper 
is laid upon the drawing, which is passed under a heavy roller, 
and the ink is thus transferred from the drawing to the paper, 
and so on for each separate impression. This process of print- 
ing is a slow one, and consequently is comparatively costly, and 
is wholly inadequate where a large number of copies are re- 



404 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



quired in a short time. Its merit is that the picture is precisely 
what the artist made it, whether good or bad, whereas in an 
engraving properly so called the result depends no little upon 
the skill of the engraver. It is no more difficult to make the 
drawing upon the stone than with a crayon upon paper, and 
from this one drawing a large number of copies can be printed. 
Lithography is especially adapted for large portraits and also 
for the reproduction of architectural and mechanical drawings, 
where no great delicacy of line is required. For the wider 
purposes of illustration of books lithography is almost wholly 
superseded by wood-engraving. 

Copperplate Engraving. — In this method of engraving the 
lines and dots which make up the picture are cut, one by one, 
into the surface of a polished plate of metal. If this engraved 
plate could be printed from in the same manner as with ordi- 
nary types the cut would consist of white strokes upon a black 
ground, like the marks of a white pencil upon a black slate. 
The whole effect of the cut would be reversed: the portions 
which should be light would be dark, those which should be 
dark would be light. In printing from a copperplate engraving 
the whole surface of the plate is covered over with the ink, which 
also fills up all the engraved lines ; the ink is then carefully 
wiped from the surface of the plate, leaving only that which fills 
the incised lines. The sheet of paper is then laid upon the 
plate, which is passed under a heavy roller, which presses the 
surface of the sheet into the lines, and the ink in them is taken 
up. This inking, wiping, and impressing must be repeated for 
each copy, so that the process is even slower than that of litho- 
graphic printing. Five hundred copies of a print of the size of 
a page of this volume would be as many as two men working 
together could throw off in a day. Etching differs from copper- 
plate engraving only in this : the plate is covered with a thin 
coating of varnish, through which the lines are drawn upon 
the metal and then " bitten " into the plate by a strong acid 
instead of being cut in with the graver. Very often the two 
modes are combined in the same plate, the heavier parts being 
bitten in by the acid, the more delicate ones cut by the graver. 



FAIENCE VASE. 
See Note 29. 



THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 



407 



The rubbing to which the plate is subjected wears it away so 
rapidly that not more than a few thousands of good impressions 
can be taken from a copperplate. This objection is partly ob- 
viated by making the engraving upon a plate of soft steel, which 
is afterwards hardened. Engraving upon steel differs in no 
respect from engraving upon copper, its sole advantage being 
in the greater number of copies which can be printed from the 
plate. 

Copperplate engraving is capable of producing finer effects 
than any other method. The engraver has his choice of every 
kind of line or point — he can make his lines as heavy as he 
chooses or finer than a hair ; he can cross and recross his lines 
at will, just as though he were using a pencil. The main ob- 
jection is the slowness of the printing and the consequent cost, 
which render the whole process unavailable to meet the requi- 
sites of ordinary book and periodical illustration. Still there 
are many uses for which there is no substitute. Foremost 
among these is the reproduction of paintings of the highest 
class. A copperplate engraver of the highest merit undoubt- 
edly stands at the head of his profession, and of course earns 
in proportion. 

Wood-Exgravixg. — The process of engraving upon wood is 
the exact reverse of that of engraving upon copper. In it the 
lines which form the picture are raised instead of being sunk ; 
or, rather, all except the lines is cut away, leaving them standing 
in relief. One can gain an idea of the comparative difficulty of 
the two methods by closely examining a copperplate and a wood 
enQravino;. In the former the engraver has cut each black line 
into the plate as we see it, and as his graver has a triangular 
point, the deeper he cuts the thicker will be the line, and he can 
thicken the line from time to time, as he sees fit, in order to 
produce such depth of color as he finds best for the general 
effect. But, in the latter, the engraver has cut out one by one 
each separate white line or point as it appears in the print, leav- 
ing the black lines standing. If he should cut away too much 
there is no remedy ; unlike the copperplate engraver, he has no 
means of deepening the color if he has once made it too light. 



408 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



He can put in more light if he chooses, but cannot put in more 
shade. 

Let one try to reproduce with pencil and paper the lines of 
a simple part of a wood-engraving. With a fine black pencil, 
upon white paper, he will find little difficulty; the hardest thing, 
perhaps, would be to reproduce it exactly. If he make an exact 
copy he will have done just what the copperplate engraver would 
have done. Then let him, with a fine white pencil, attempt to 
make a similar copy upon black paper. If he succeed in mak- 
ing this he will have done just what the engraver has done, 
for this is a woodcut, after all. The engraver has accomplished 
a difficult task, and has succeeded in doing tolerably w r ell only 
what a copperplate engraver of equal ability would have done 
better and with less labor. 

Engravings in relief have not unfrequently been executed 
upon soft metals. Wood has, however, been found the best 
material for the purpose. Boxwood is the only kind which has 
a grain sufficiently close for fine cuts, and this is sawed across 
the grain, and not in boards or slabs. The art has been prac- 
tised in China from time immemorial, for a page of a Chinese 
book is a woodcut, with the letters in relief. The oldest known 
European woodcut bears the date 1423. 

Wood-engraving in the United States dates back only to about 
1830, and some tolerable work was executed within the succeed- 
ing ten years ; but for nearly twenty years more the Ameri- 
can engravers were far behind their European contemporaries. 
Nearly all the good engravers were foreigners who had learned 
the art abroad. To-day, American wood -engraving is, beyond 
question, the best in the world, and perhaps the best idea of its 
progress may be gained by examining the successive volumes of 
Harper s Magazine since 1855, when original illustrations began 
to be a prominent feature of its management, and the very best 
which could be executed at the time were secured, although for 
several years after the bulk of them were mere reproductions of 
the work of foreign designers and engravers. . 

But we have to do with the economical rather than with the 
historical or artistic aspects of the subject. The great advance 



THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 



409 



of the last fifteen years has been partly the effect and partly the 
cause of the increased artistic appreciation of the American pub- 
lic, and there has been a wholesome rivalry among those pub- 
lishers who have taken it in hand to meet the growing want. 
They have been wise enough to see that it was not enough to 
keep abreast with the public ; they must move in advance of it, 
and offer better productions than their patrons were then pre- 
pared to appreciate. 

This better work could only be had by offering pecuniary 
inducements sufficient to stimulate greater endeavor on the part 
of a higher order of artistic talent, both among designers and 
engravers. The times are past — if they ever existed — when 
artists were content to work without liberal payment, and now 
that they have the great public for their real patrons there is 
no need that they should do so. The cost of producing a hand- 
somely-illustrated work is hardly suspected by the person who 
purchases a copy. The amount paid to the draughtsmen and 
engravers of each of the cuts which have been presented in this 
volume as types of our best wood - engraving is not less than 
three hundred dollars. From this an approximate estimate may 
be made of the entire expenditure for this one purpose of illus- 
tration. This sum, if divided among the copies of an edition 
of a few thousand, would amount, for each copy, to more than 
the price of the volume. But when this total amount is spread 
over scores or, perhaps, hundreds of thousands of copies, it be- 
comes comparatively small for each. 

It need not be repeated that the avocation of the wood- 
engraver is now among the most remunerative. That it will 
continue to be so is as certain as anything can well be, so 
long as the country keeps on advancing in wealth and cult- 
ure. The causes are permanent and the effect cannot be tran- 
sient. To us it seems hardly possible that engravings better, as 
such, than the best of those now made, can be produced in the 
future. We may hope to have better pictures, for there is no 
limit which we can assign to the development of that genius 
which is required to create a picture. But it seems to us that 
the engravers whose names are attached to the cuts here given 



410 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



— and many more who rank fairly by their side — have done 
nearly all that can be accomplished in black and white lines to 
reproduce the thought and intent of the designer. 

To a certain extent wood-engraving is a mechanical art, de- 
pending upon accuracy of eye and dexterity of hand. This was 
notably so until quite recently, for the designer was accustomed 
to draw with his pencil every line just as he wished it to appear 
in the cut ; but, working in black while the engraver worked in 
white, he often used lines easy for him to produce with the pen- 
cil but hard for the engraver to preserve by cutting around 
them. As engravers became more and more artists and less 
mechanics, it was found that the arrangement and form of the 
lines might better be left mainly to them, and the designers 
merely drew the dominant lines which gave the form and washed 
in the other parts with India-ink, so as to produce the color and 
effect, which the engraver reproduced in line. The result is 
shown by the illustrations in this volume, which comprise some 
of the finest specimens of the art of wood-engraving. No finer 
ones can be found in any book expressly devoted to art. 

The wood-engraver who shall attain high success should be 
aware of the conditions essential to that end. He must possess 
genuine artistic feeling to begin with. He may not be able to 
produce the design which he is to render, but he must perceive 
just what was the idea or feeling which the artist meant to em- 
body, and be able to render it by the methods of his own art. 
The great composer is not of necessity a great singer: he may 
not have a voice capable of expressing the music in his soul. 
The translator of a poem from one language into another may 
not have been able to have written the poem in either language, 
but he must well understand the language from which he trans- 
lates, and must have a full mastery of that into which he trans- 
lates. Form and tint and line are to the artist what words are 
to the author. The engraver reproduces the forms of the artist 
and translates his tint into his own lines. Upon the ability 
with which he does this depends his success in his profession. 

A thorough education of the eye and hand are indispensable, 
and they must be trained to work together. The hand of the 



THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 



411 



engraver works under the constant direction of the eye. No 
tremulous or inflexible hand can belong to a good engraver. It 
might be supposed that the superior delicacy of the female or- 
ganization would render engraving peculiarly a fitting employ- 
ment for women. It certainly has some special adaptations. It 
does not involve great physical exertion, and it can be practised 
at home as w T ell as elsewhere. The experiment has been begun 
— as in the school for engraving in the Cooper Institute — but it 
is yet too early to pronounce positively upon the degree of its 
success. This much may be said in its favor: Women here 
stand upon an equal footing with men. The female writer is 
paid as highly as the male writer, provided that her work is as 
good, and the woman who engraves will command as high re- 
muneration as the man of like ability and skill. Art and litera- 
ture know no sex. The quality of the work accomplished, not 
the personality of the doer of it, governs the remuneration and 
the fame. 

The application of the artistic faculty to practical industrial 
purposes, so that it shall open new and wide avenues for success, 
ranks high among the subjects of general interest. The indus- 
trial arts must come more into exercise as the requirements of 
the community extend beyond the bare necessities and conven- 
iences of life. 



412 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SCIENCES AND ARTS. 

IT is not easy to draw any exact line between the Sciences 
and the Arts. The two departments of thought and en- 
deavor overlap each other upon every side. There is one thing 
which they have in common in our age. The persistent ten- 
dency of our times is to direct all research, speculation, and en- 
deavor to some practical result. Knowledge is regarded not so 
much as an ultimate end, to be sought for its own sake, as it is 
for a means for the attainment of some further end and object, 
that object being the augmentation of the sum of human com- 
fort. Money is but a form for the expression of the amount 
and degree of this augmentation. The money- value of a thing- 
is precisely the amount, expressed in pounds and shillings, or 
dollars and cents, of the comfort or pleasure which it may be 
made to afford its possessor. Some have styled ours a " money- 
getting age," by way of censure and sneer, and have poured 
forth torrents of lamentation and objurgation over the prevail- 
ing "haste to get rich." With all this we have no sympathy. 
We hold that the man who in any way produces anything 
which adds to human comfort and happiness is the useful and 
estimable man. He who does not do this is the useless man 
—useless to himself and to others. The useful man is the one, 
and the only one, who ought to be successful in any sphere of 
life. 

But the man who puts in thought and knowledge, science 
and enterprise, contributes more than the one who puts in 
merely muscular labor, and deserves a higher reward. The ox 
that drags the plough is not the real plougher of the field ; it is 



OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SCIENCES AND ARTS. 413 



the man who devised the plough, and that other one who guides 
the team. The operative who w r orks at the loom is not the chief 
manufacturer; it is the man who invented the loom, and he 
who builds the mill, provides the machinery, and directs the whole 
series of operations. If his contribution consists of capital 
rather than of immediate labor or thought, still, that capital is 
the product of previous labor performed either by himself or by 
some one from whom he has received it. There are few men 
who have not far more of capital in the form of thought and 
skill than they ever put to use. If they bury this capital through 
disuse, they cannot reasonably expect to make it pay interest or 
yield a profit. In all that has gone before, one aim has been to 
point out some of the directions in which this kind of capital 
may be utilized to the advantage of its owner, and in all that is 
to follow this will be held strictly in view. 

Physical Science is the study of the laws of physical nature. 
By " Applied Science " we mean the direct application of these 
laws to the increase of human comfort and physical well-being. 
It is industry guided by knowledge. With all the progress in 
this direction of which we boast, we have taken only the first 
steps in any of the paths. We shall indicate some of these ap- 
plied sciences which at the present time seem to promise large 
rewards to those who shall wisely cultivate them. What has 
been successfully begun is one of the safest guides as to what 
may still be accomplished. 

Chemistry. — It was long before any practical effort was 
made to apply this science to any really useful end. Bewildered 
by baseless theories, the alchemists wasted their lives in the vain 
attempt to discover the " philosopher's stone," which should 
transmute the base metals into the precious ones ; or the " elixir 
of life," which would confer immortality upon mortals. But no 
sooner did students abandon these dreams, and begin to direct 
their researches and experiments to practical ends, than ample 
results rewarded their efforts. There is no hour in the day in 
which every one of us does not receive much benefit from the 
work done for us by chemists. These are so common that we 
are wont to forget how few of them were attainable even by our 



414 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



immediate forefathers. The means by which we illuminate out 
dwellings and streets, thus doubling, if need be, the hours for 
labor or recreation, are among the results of applied chemistry. 
Most of the medicines which alleviate our sufferings or cure our 
diseases are the direct products of applied chemistry. We write 
with chemical ink, and color our fabrics with chemical dyes. 
Applied chemistry enters largely into the production of the 
bread which we eat. The steel which edges our knives, even 
iron, as we use it, is a chemical product. The gunpowder 
which tears down mountains to make way for our highways, 
and fights our battles for us, is the product of the chemist's 
laboratory. Let the traveller find himself in a region where 
matches are not to be had, and attempt without them to light his 
fire by rubbing two sticks together, and he will begin to appre- 
hend what are some of the debts which he owes to the chemist. 
Hardly a day passes that does not add to the sum of benefits 
conferred upon us by applied chemistry. The field still unoc- 
cupied or only partially explored is yet so vast that there is no 
danger of its becoming overcrowded. The practical chemist 
must find lucrative occupation, and should he make — as many 
will make — any valuable addition to the supplying of the public 
wants, his reward will be ample. 

Civil Engineering. — Instead of solving old mathematical 
problems or propounding new ones, men of the highest genius 
now turn their attention in a practical direction. In place of 
inventing " magic squares," or endeavoring to " square the cir- 
cle," they set themselves to work in studying the strength of 
materials, the best forms of the arch, the proper slope of em- 
bankments, and the like. They level the lines of railroads, de- 
vise means of directing the course of rivers, and build bridges 
such as no former age would have dared to imagine. They con- 
struct works for irrigation which will fertilize regions which 
would otherwise be deserts ; and devise and execute systems of 
drainage which will avert pestilence from crowded cities. 

There is no assignable limit to the field which lies open to 
the competent civil engineer ; and it is a hopeful sign that this 
is becoming more and more appreciated by aspiring young men. 



OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SCIENCES AND ARTS. 415 



A generation ago, to say that a youth was " getting an education " 
was equivalent to saying that after he had acquired a little Latin 
and less Greek, a little algebra and the rudiments of geometry, 
he proposed to become a clergyman, or a lawyer, or a doctor. 
The student who now expects to make his way in the world 
turns aside from the old classical curriculum, and either takes a 
" special course " in the university or enters a school of technol- 
ogy, devoted to instruction in some or all of the physical sciences. 
The man who undertakes to master the science of civil engineer- 
ing will soon find that he has enough to do to occupy all the 
time and thought which he can devote to the study of that one 
science. But he has undertaken to fit himself for doing work 
which the public demands, and for which it stands ready to pay. 

Electricity. — Some five centuries before the beginning of 
the Christian era Thales of Miletus, a kind of Greek Benjamin 
Franklin, happened to be rubbing a piece of electron, or amber, 
and carelessly touched it to a feather or some other light sub- 
stance, which he found to be attracted by it. To this hitherto 
unobserved natural force he gave the name of " electricity." He 
little dreamed that this apparently feeble force was in time to 
become one of the most efficient — not improbably the most effi- 
cient — servant of man. Not quite a century ago Galvani of Bo- 
logna, in like manner by accident, brought the leg of a dead frog 
in contact with two dissimilar metals ; a convulsive action en- 
sued, and the force which produced this was found to be identi- 
cal with, or at least kindred to, that which attracts the paper- 
shreds to the rubbed amber or glass, and that which keeps the 
ends of the magnetic needle pointing towards the northern and 
southern poles. Franklin had shown that this feeble force was 
identical with that manifested in the lightning; but no one 
for long years dreamed that this could be made serviceable to 
man. Up to the beginning of the present generation electricity 
in any of its forms was nothing more than a scientific play- 
thing, which might perhaps be turned to some slight practical 
purpose. 

We all know what service this humanly developed electricity 
has been made to render. In the telegraph it sends our mes- 



416 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



sages around the globe with a rapidity like that of light. The 
telegraph alone renders possible those simultaneous comparisons 
of meteorological observations which may result in a science of 
weather-prophecy. A suspension of telegraphic communication 
would bring about a revulsion in the commercial business of the 
world. In the telephone, electricity does for sound what the 
telescope does for the vision. In electrotyping it plates the 
precious metals upon the cheaper ones, and makes a perfect fac- 
simile of the most exquisitely engraved plate or block. 

But the possible powers of this newly yoked servant of man 
have only begun to be called forth. There seems to be no rea- 
son to doubt that the time is close at hand when the electric 
light will to a great degree supersede gas as a means of illumi- 
nation ; when we shall work and study by the flashes of lightning 
made permanent instead of momentary. There is, moreover, 
good reason to anticipate that electricity will, at no very remote 
period, largely take the place of steam as a motive-power ; al- 
though it is not many years since one of our foremost authori- 
ties in science laid it down as a matter "long since settled that 
the motive -power derived from electro -magnetic combinations 
can only be secured at an expense which forbids its employment 
on a large scale ;" the most that could be said was that " for 
many purposes, in which the consideration of cost is unimpor- 
tant, the convenience of application of this power has secured 
for it an acceptance which is becoming every year more general;' 
But the great Dionysius Lardner a few years ago demonstrated 
most mathematically that steam could never be successfully em- 
ployed in ocean navigation, because no vessel could carry coal 
enough for a voyage of three thousand miles. Men whose opin- 
ions are entitled to great consideration now look forward to a 
day not far distant, when many of our railroads will be operated 
by electricity. In any case, there can be no question that the 
industries in which this force is and is to be employed must 
furnish profitable occupation for many more persons than are 
now engaged in them. 

Mineralogy. — In the chapter on Mines and Mining, statis- 
tics have been given which show that, next to agriculture, mining 



OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SCIENCES AND ARTS. 417 



is the most important of the worlds industries ; indeed, without 
this few other industries could be successfully practised. The 
United States include what are pre-eminently the mineral re- 
gions of the globe. With the exception of tin, there is no valu- 
able mineral which is not abundant in large sections. Fully 
two thirds of all the coal known to exist is here. The produc- 
tion of iron in any country must in time depend to a great 
extent upon that of coal ; and there is to-day more probability 
that the continent of Europe will have to look to us for coal 
and iron than there was twenty years ago that Europe would 
look to America for bread and corn. 

The increase in the demand for food must, of course, keep 
nearly equal pace with the increase of population, and be limited 
by it ; but the uses of metals multiply much more rapidly than 
the population does. We have the metals so readily at hand 
that it cannot be very long — protection or no protection — before 
we shall cease to import them ; for we shall be able to produce 
them more cheaply than we can buy them abroad. In another 
chapter we speak of the possible — nay, probable — future impor- 
tance of what may be styled the chemical metals, aluminum and 
magnesium. 

We use the word mineralogist in its widest signification, to 
designate all those, except mere diggers of the ores and other 
unskilled laborers, who are occupied in the production of miner- 
als, and rendering them into the forms in which they are used 
by the artificer. It will thus include a wide range of vocations, 
from the mining engineer who plans the drifts and tunnels, to 
the expert who analyzes the ores, and the assayer who frees the 
metal from its alloys and impurities, or combines the ores so as 
to produce that form of the metal in which it is best adapted for 
the special end in view. 

The range of knowledge required by the practical mineralo- 
gist is wide, and requires apparatus and appliances upon a scale 
which can be furnished only by large institutions. Until within 
a few years, American students have been obliged to go abroad 
and study in such German schools as Berlin, Freiberg, or Claus- 
thal, at Schemnitz, in Hungary, or Leoben, in Styria; at the 

23 



418 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Ecole des Mines in Paris, or the Royal School of Mines in Lon- 
don. Undoubtedly, something may be learned in each of these 
great schools better than anywhere else. But we are well 
assured that no one of them presents greater opportunities than 
are furnished at the School of Mines of Columbia College, the 
Sheffield Scientific School of Yale, the School of Mining and 
Practical Geology of Harvard, the Scientific Department of the 
University of Pennsylvania, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 
of Troy, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston, 
or the Stevens Institute of Technology at Hoboken. With 
such ample means for acquiring instruction, and such widening 
fields for the exercise of the knowledge acquired, the vocation 
of practical mineralogy is one which must be more lucrative 
than most others. 

Glass-Making. — Glass is an artificial compound, produced 
by melting together silex and potash or soda, to which lime, 
borax, and lead are sometimes added, for various purposes, the 
result of the fusion being a more or less transparent, brittle, in- 
soluble substance of extreme hardness, and acted upon by no 
acid except hydrochloric. The manufacture of glass is of great 
antiquity, but it was mainly used for decorative and ornamental 
purposes ; its use for windows not being at all common until the 
revival of civilization after the overthrow of the Roman Empire. 
The manufacture of glass is an important industry in the United 
States, the growth of which has more than kept pace with the 
increase of population. 

As reported in the Census of 1870, there were in the United 
States 201 glass-works, employing 15,822 hands, the value of the 
product being (in gold) $15,235,862. In 1880 there were 211 
glass-works, employing 24,177 hands, the value of the product 
being $21,154,571 ; an increase of 52 per cent, in the number of 
hands employed, and of 38 per cent, in the value of the prod- 
ucts; but the average wages paid was about the same, $380 per 
hand, of whom about one fourth were women and children. 
There w T ere in 1880 glass-works in fifteen states of the Union; 
but about three fourths of them were in Pennsylvania, New 
Jersey, New York, and Ohio. 



OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SCIENCES AND ARTS. 419 



A large part of the work in the manufacture of glass is per- 
formed by unskilled labor, and is paid for as such. But in the 
production of ornamental and decorative glass-ware, and especi- 
ally in painting upon it for windows, there is a growing demand 
for artistic work of a high though special character. 

" Glass-painting," says Mr. Charles A. Cole,* " is an art taxing the highest 
pictorial resources. The artist should be a student of history, sacred and 
profane, well versed in ecclesiastical and civil costume, armor, heraldry, con- 
ventionalism, symmetry, coloring, and the manufacture of colors. It is neces- 
sary that he should draw geometrically, mechanically, and artistically, and 
strengthen himself with a mechanical knowledge of combining numberless parts 
to compose a whole, the effect of which he has scarcely an opportunity of form- 
ing any other than a problematical judgment until the entire work is erected, 
and which, therefore, he can acquire only by habit and intuitive feeling." 

Until quite recently painted -glass windows were confined 
wholly to Catholic and Episcopal churches, and they were almost 
always the work of foreign artists. But now windows of painted 
odass are coming- to be more and more common in churches of 
other denominations and in private mansions. The painter on 
glass must ever keep in mind the restrictions imposed upon him 
by the very nature of his work. Unlike oil-painting, it excludes 
minute detail, partly on account of the greater distance at which 
the picture is to be viewed, and partly because this detail, which 
is capable of great effect on an opaque surface, would be lost 
through the transparency of the glass. A painting on glass is 
incapable of those nice gradations of color and of light and 
shade which are indispensable for direct and close imitations of 
nature, and for producing the full effect of atmosphere and dis- 
tance. And, moreover, if this difficulty could be surmounted, 
the bars, or other window work, would spoil the effect of such a 
picture. A landscape should not be the principal feature of a 
painting on glass ; neither should a figure or group of figures 
which require much foreshortening. The figures should occupy 
the immediate foreground, not running into the distance. This 
subject is worthy the consideration of the public as well as of 



* Harpers Magazine, October, 1879. 



420 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



artists, and we therefore quote a few further sentences from 
Mr. Cole's suggestive paper : 

" In the glass-painters' workshops in New York — we write these remarks 
in one of the most noted — may be seen devices, at a cost within the reach of 
the majority, which would brighten and illuminate habitations large and small. 
Here are windows filled with medallions, or panels, containing colored pictures 
arranged in a symmetrical manner, and imbedded in a mosaic ornamental 
ground formed of rich colors. Here are pictures without number representing 
successive incidents in a parable, a story, or legend, or poem. Profuse in fancy 
are groups of leaves — the maple, oak, ivy, and the parasitical plants — as well 
as birds and insects ; the scroll-work being formed of the twining tendrils of 
plants or of boughs or branches. Borders, with stalks running up the sides of 
the panes, either in a serpentine manner or straight, from which spring leaves, 
acorns, nuts, fruit ; the stalks perhaps of one color, the leaves of another, all 
introduced on a colored ground. Attractive enough will be found the common 
1 decorated patterns,' consisting of a number of narrow fillets and bands, some 
colored, some ornamented, but for the most part plain and white, disposed in 
the forms of circles, lozenges, ovals, quatrefoils, and other geometrical figures, 
or even simply reticulated, and curiously interwoven with each other. Mean- 
while, some advice may be remembered with profit by any one who wishes to 
use painted glass as a household ornamentation. The positive colors ought to 
be employed sparingly, and confined to the chief points of the composition. 
When overloaded with color, the sparkling brilliancy so desirable in painted 
glass is entirely lost. The general ground of the window, for example, should 
be of a neutral tint, suitable in tone to its character and situation." 

The demand for painted glass has produced among us artists 
capable of meeting all desires. Forty-five years ago there was 
not a single manufactory of this kind in the United States. 
Now, within the compass of a few streets, near Broadway and 
the Fifth Avenue, in New York, one may count the studios of a 
score of painters upon glass, and there is no considerable city 
in the Union which does not possess artists of this class — attrac- 
tive to those who practise it from the remuneration which it 
affords, and to the public from the beauty of their work. Facts 
fully justify the statement of Mr. Cole that "glass-painting of a 
high order of art is accessible in this country, and there is a 
large and increasing demand for it as a means of household 
decoration " — a demand which shows a constant increase. 

Closely allied to painting upon glass is the production of 
ornamented glass-ware. There is, indeed, no other substance, 




ON A MARKET-BOAT IN NORTH HOLLAND. 
See Note 30. 



OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SCIENCES AND ARTS. 423 



except clay, which so readily lends itself to many useful and 
ornamental purposes as glass. Composed of the very cheapest 
and most common of materials, human skill fashions it into 
forms which serve to gratify not only the humblest needs, but 
the most refined tastes. Ornamental glass-ware has long been 
a special industry of Venice. This graceful and useful art is 
making its way among us, as, indeed, it should ; for there is no 
reason why the most common articles of glass-ware should not 
have the beautiful forms which the natural beauty of the mate- 
rial suggests. Up to a certain point beauty costs no more than 
ugliness ; and beyond this there is no conceivable limit to the 
artistic labor which may be lavished upon the shaping and orna- 
menting of glass-ware. 

Working in the Precious Metals. — In the arts of pottery 
and glass-working the artist and workman give value to mate- 
rials which are in themselves almost worthless. The worker in 
gold, silver, and precious stones confers additional value upon 
the most costly materials. The production of silver-ware, and 
of ware plated with silver, has grown to be a very important 
industry in this country. There are establishments in which it 
is conducted upon a very extensive scale ; and the advancing 
culture of society demands a higher and still higher grade of 
artistic merit, and the cultured public is ready to pay liberally 
for the gratification of its tastes. 

The manufacture of silver-ware in the United States dates 
from 1 83 1, when Jabez Gorham began to make silver spoons 
at Providence, Rhode Island. In about thirty-five years the 
" Gorham Manufactory " became the largest of its kind in the 
world ; and there are now several others of scarcely less extent. 
Each of these establishments carries on a dozen or more dis- 
tinct trades. To make spoons and forks is a trade of itself ; to 
make cups, vases, and other large vessels is quite another. 
Chasing is one trade, embossing another. Die-cutting, pattern- 
making, moulding, engraving, burnishing, polishing, are all sepa- 
rate trades, each of which requires a regular apprenticeship in 
order to become a competent workman. It is the business of 
all of these trades to carry into effect the conceptions of the 



424 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



designer, whose aim is not merely to produce beautiful forms, 
but also to unite elegance with convenience ; always to be ahead 
of public taste, so as to be ready to furnish to the purchaser 
something superior to that of which he is in search. 

The business of the jeweller, as distinguished from that of the 
silver-worker, also presents numerous openings for the highest 
order of workmanship. The census of 1870 reports 18,508 " Gold 
and Silver Workers;" in 1880 there were 28,405, an increase of 
53 per cent. The labor is almost entirely " skilled," and receives a 
corresponding remuneration. The average wages for " jewellers " 
of both sexes and all ages, including apprentices, is given in the 
census at $640 per year. The large percentage of increase in 
the number of persons employed evinces the increasing demand 
for their services. 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 



425 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 

A" PATENT," in the widest sense, is denned to be "a 
grant made by the government or the sovereign of a 
country to some person or persons of some privilege, property, or 
authority ; or the exclusive right to some new invention, discov- 
ery, or improvement." Under the first clause of the definition 
are included the numerous monopolies arbitrarily bestowed by 
sovereigns upon their favorites, and these still exist in various 
European countries. In England this was limited by an Act of 
Parliament in 1624, which prohibited the granting of exclusive 
privileges in trade, with the exception that letters -patent might 
be issued for a term not exceeding twenty-one years, "for the 
sole working or making of any new manufacture within this 
realm, to the first and true inventor of such manufactures." 
The earliest English letters-patent, in our sense of the term, 
were issued in 1643, to Arnold Rotsipen.for an improvement in 
printing machinery. The earliest American patent was granted 
in 1 64 1, by the General Court of Massachusetts, to Samuel 
Winslow, for a process of making salt; and in 1653 a royalty 
of ten shillings was granted to John Clark, to be collected from 
every family which should use a method devised by him for 
" saving wood and warming houses at little cost." 

Grave objections have been urged against the patent system, 
all of which resolve themselves into this, that they create mo- 
nopolies which deprive other persons than the patentees of the 
exercise of certain rights belonging to them. " Suppose," it is 
said, " that a certain man has, whether by study or accident, dis- 
covered that by mixing India-rubber and sulphur together in 



426 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



certain proportions and submitting them to a certain degree of 
heat a new and valuable substance is produced, what right does 
that give him to prevent any other person from doing the same 
thing with his own materials and producing the same result ? 
All persons had originally the same right, and the fact that he 
was the first to exercise it cannot invalidate the right of any 
one else. If he has discovered such a process he may, if he 
choose, keep it a secret, or divulge it to whom he pleases and 
upon such conditions as he pleases, and make as much of it as 
he can in that way, and that is the limit of his right in his dis- 
covery; all beyond this is an arbitrary monopoly, and monopo- 
lies are, by their very nature, against the public interest." 

To this it is replied: " It is for the public interest that men 
should be encouraged and stimulated to study and experiment 
for the purpose of making discoveries and inventions ; and if 
these are of public advantage the public should, for their own 
good as well as in justice to him, in some way remunerate the 
inventor for the benefit which he has conferred upon them. 
They may do it by bestowing upon him a specific sum, as when 
Jenner was awarded ,£10,000 for his discovery of the process of 
vaccination, Davy ^2000 for the miner's safety-lamp, or Whit- 
ney $50,000 for the cotton-gin ; but in the great majority of 
instances this mode would be ineffectual, for governments are 
rarely in a position to ascertain accurately the benefits which 
may accrue to the public from any particular invention. It 
is far better to frame general laws to effect the object, and there 
are no apparent means of doing this so surely as by bestowing 
upon the inventor the exclusive right, for a certain time and 
upon proper conditions, to the profitable use of his invention. 
Let him put up this right for sale in what way he pleases, and 
the public will pay him as much as it is worth to them and no 
more. If it is worth nothing to them the inventor will receive 
nothing, no matter how much time and labor it may have cost 
him ; if it be worth much he will receive much, no matter how 
little labor it may have cost him. The question is not how 
much it has cost the inventor, but how much the public find it 
worth to them. In granting such a patent, it is further said, the 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 427 



Government, representing the people, does indeed surrender to 
the patentee certain of their rights, but it does so for a valuable 
consideration. The patentee also surrenders certain rights be- 
longing to him. He imparts to the public certain information, 
valuable to them, which he was at perfect liberty to withhold. 
The whole transaction is in effect a bargain between the State 
and the patentee. The State, by its patent-law, makes certain 
propositions open to the acceptance of all whom it may concern; 
the inventor, by applying for a patent, accepts those proposi- 
tions, and both parties are rightly held to the fulfilment of the 
conditions of the bargain." 

Nearly all civilized States have come to the conclusion that 
the manifest advantages of a system of patent-laws far overbal- 
ance any alleged disadvantages. In Holland, Greece, and Switz- 
erland, however, no patents are granted, and in some of the 
States of the German Empire they are looked upon with dis- 
favor. In Prussia the annual average number of applications 
for patents is about 800, of which only about one-fourth are 
granted, and the patentee forfeits his exclusive right if he suffers 
his invention to be unemployed for twelve consecutive months ; 
and, moreover, the patent gives him only the exclusive right of 
manufacturing the article within the kingdom, and does not hin- 
der the sale there of similar articles produced abroad. 

In most European countries patents are issued for various 
periods up to a certain number of years. In Great Britain a 
patent may be taken out for three years, the fee being ^25 ; it 
may be renewed for four years more for ^50, and for an addi- 
tional period of seven years for ^100 more; so that the entire 
cost of a British patent for fourteen years was, until recently, 
^175, or about $875. Some modifications have, however, been 
recently introduced. In France a patent may be taken out for 
five, ten, or fifteen years, and is subject for each period to an 
annual tax of 100 francs, so that the total cost for a patent for 
fifteen years is 1 500 francs, or about $300. In Austria a patent 
may also be taken out for fifteen years or for a shorter period, 
the tax for each period of five years being double that of the 
preceding five: thus, for the first five years it is $48.72 ; for the 



428 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



second five, #97.44; for the third five, $194.88, amounting in all, 
for fifteen years, to $341.04. In Russia a patent may be taken 
out for three, five, or ten years, the entire cost for one of ten 
years being $357. In the United States a patent runs for sev- 
enteen years, the entire cost of obtaining it being only $35. It 
is owing in a great measure to the comparatively small cost that 
probably as many patents are taken out in the United States as 
in all Europe. 

American Patents. — The United States Patent-office is one 
of the bureaus of the Department of the Interior, all the offi- 
cials being paid by fixed salaries from the Government. But 
an applicant for a patent must pay a fee of $15 upon filing his 
application, and an additional $20 when the patent is issued. 
The term of the patent is now fixed at seventeen years. Since 
1875 the term of a patent can be extended only by an Act of 
Congress. Copyrights for books, maps, engravings, and artistic 
designs, though essentially of the nature of patents, do not come 
within the jurisdiction of the Patent-office. 

Obtaining a Patent. — The general principles regulating 
this procedure are easily understood. Any person, whether a cit- 
izen or alien, may obtain a patent for any "art, machine, man- 
ufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful im- 
provement thereof," of which he is the inventor or discoverer. 
The thing patented must be both " useful" and "new." As to 
usefulness, the law is very liberally construed. It does not pre- 
scribe any absolute degree of utility. An invention which is 
injurious to health or public morals, or which is designed to 
facilitate the perpetration of crime, is not patentable, because of 
what is denominated its " want of utility." The most novel and 
ingenious burglars' "jimmy" or thieves' picklock would not be 
patentable ; but we suppose that if the philosopher of Laputa 
had succeeded in extracting sunbeams from cucumbers, he would 
have found no difficulty in obtaining a patent for his discovery 
in the United States. 

Novelty of an Invention. — In respect to this there is need 
of much care on the part of the inventor. To be " new," in the 
legal sense of the term, the invention must not have been known 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 429 

or in use by others in this country, and must not have been pat- 
ented or described in any printed publication in this or any for- 
eign country; and the inventor himself must not have allowed 
the use or sale of his invention for more than two years previous 
to his application for a patent. If he has done this, it is held that 
he has thereby abandoned his invention to the public use. 

Completeness of the Invention. — An invention to be pat- 
entable must be so far completed that it shall be capable of 
being put to use without further addition, and so that the means 
of producing the result aimed at may be accurately and fully set 
forth. The mere conception that a certain end may be secured 
by certain means is not sufficient. Mere experiments are not 
patentable ; but, supposing that the invention consists of- a proc- 
ess or a composition of matter, the inventor is not required to 
be able to explain why the effect is produced. It is sufficient 
that he has discovered what materials are necessary, and how 
they may be applied, to produce the required effect. Goodyear 
could not tell — and perhaps no one else can tell — why exposing 
a compound of India-rubber and sulphur to a strong heat pro- 
duces a new and valuable substance. It was sufficient that he 
ascertained the fact, and discovered the means which produced 
the result. Nor is it necessary that the invention shall be the 
outcome of long labor or study. It may be the result of sheer 
accident, as was the case in the vulcanizing of India-rubber. 

What may be Patented. — The discovery of a principle that 
is a law of nature is not patentable. Thus, no one can acquire 
an exclusive right in the properties of the electric fluid, nor in 
that actinic power of the sun's rays by which photographs are 
produced ; but the discoverer of any new mode of applying the 
electric power may secure the exclusive use of his own mode. 
In brief: the discovery of a principle, a natural law, a scientific 
truth, or any property of matter, is not of itself the subject of a 
patent ; but any one who makes a new and useful application of 
any of these, or invents new machinery or any new processes by 
which desirable results can be attained, may secure a patent, not 
for all possible applications of the abstract principle, but for his 
methods of practically applying it. The application of an old 



430 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



invention to new uses is not patentable. There was a well- 
known machine for curling hair for mattresses; some one ap- 
plied for a patent for the use of a similar machine for curling 
palm-leaf for the same purpose ; this was refused. The applica- 
tion of ether as an anaesthetic was held not to be patentable, 
because " the claim was for a new effect produced upon old sub- 
jects, by old agents, and operating by old means." 

Nature of the Right to a Patent. — From the nature of 
the case the privilege secured by a patent can only be secured 
by positive law. Apart from such law there is nothing to pre- 
vent any one from repeating, for his own advantage, what has 
been done by any other person. A man may have discovered 
some means by which two blades of grass may be grown instead 
of one, and he would be a great public benefactor ; but, in the 
absence of positive law prohibiting it, any other man may right- 
fully adopt all his methods. The patent laws endeavor to pro- 
vide for such cases by conferring upon the discoverer a temporary 
exclusive right to its use. For how long a period this right shall 
exist must be somewhat arbitrarily determined. It is generally 
conceded, on the one hand, that it should not be perpetual, and, 
on the other hand, that it should be for so long a time that the 
inventor shall be repaid ; and, after that, this right shall revert 
to the public, by whom it was temporarily granted. The grant 
of a patent-right to the inventor, and his acceptance of it, is in 
effect a contract between the State and the inventor, in which 
the former gives to the latter, upon certain conditions, the exclu- 
sive right to the usufruct of his invention in consideration of the 
benefit which the public may receive from it during that time 
and thereafter. The issue of a patent is not, however, an abso- 
lute guarantee of the right which it purports to secure ; it is 
merely prima facie evidence of such a right, giving to the pat- 
entee a power of action for any alleged infringement. 

Forfeiture of the Right to a Patent. — The right to take 
out a patent may be forfeited in several ways : if the inventor 
fails to apply for a patent within two years after the invention 
has been put upon sale or has been in public use, he is held to 
have abandoned it to the public, and such abandonment is a 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 431 



forfeiture of the exclusive right. To this rule there is an appar- 
ent exception. After having conceived the general idea of an 
invention which he wishes further time to perfect, the inventor 
can enter a caveat in the Patent-office, setting forth the charac- 
teristics of his invention and asking protection for his right in it 
until it shall have been perfected. This caveat is kept secret in 
the Patent-office; but in case during a year any other person 
puts in a claim which apparently interferes with his, he is enti- 
tled to notice of the fact from the Commissioner of Patents, so 
that he can appear and prove his own priority. A caveat may 
be renewed from year to year, the fee for filing it being $10, 
and $30 for each application for a re-issue of it. 

Moreover, an inventor may so deal with his invention as to 
create an abandonment of it at any time. This may be done if 
the invention is, with his knowledge, generally used by others. 
Delay in applying for a patent does not of itself constitute an 
abandonment ; but an unreasonable delay, and especially if an- 
other person has originated the same invention, will involve the 
risk of losing his right to it. Whoever restores a lost or aban- 
doned invention may obtain a patent for it, just as though he 
were the original inventor. The patentee of anything patenta- 
ble is in law the inventor of it. Walter Hunt invented the 
curved, eye -pointed needle for the sewing-machine years be- 
fore Howe thought of it ; but Hunt neglected to take out a 
patent for it in time, and when he applied for one it appeared 
that Howe, perhaps never having heard of Hunt's prior inven- 
tion, had patented his own, and it was held that Hunt, although 
he had in the mean time perfected a good working machine, had 
forfeited his right by not having patented his invention or placed 
it before the public, and Howe's right to the needle was af- 
firmed. A patent which has been granted will be invalidated 
if it be judicially established that the thing itself was not patent- 
able, or that the patentee was not the real legal inventor, or that 
he had in any way forfeited or abandoned his right. 

To guard the public against deception, every patented article 
must be marked with the date of the patent, and any person who 
shall mark as patented any article for which a patent has not 



432 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



been granted, or shall, without authority, put upon it the name, or 
imitation of the name, of any person who has received a patent, 
is liable to a penalty of $100 for each offence. In case of the 
infringement of a patent the law makes ample provision for the 
recovery of all damages which have been sustained and for the 
prevention of further infringement. If actual infringement is 
shown, it is not necessary that the infringer should have known 
of the existence of the patent. It is enough that he has in- 
fringed upon a right, and he must make good any damage 
which the patentee can show that he has suffered thereby. 

American Patentees. — The Census Reports, while valuable 
in many respects, furnish a very inadequate idea of what may 
be styled the "Inventive Industry" of the United States. In 
1870 only 352 persons were reported as "Inventors;" in 1880 
" Designers, Draughtsmen, and Inventors " were classed to- 
gether, the entire number being 2820. But every patentee 
must be an inventor, and it may be assumed that the majority 
of inventors are patentees also ; for the man who has made an 
invention which he believes to be valuable will, in most cases, 
choose to avail himself of the rights secured by a patent. In 
some cases he may prefer to keep his processes a secret, but he 
runs the risk of their being discovered by some other person, 
who may use them as he pleases. 

The number of patents issued in the United States is much 
greater than in any other country, in proportion to the popula- 
tion. The total number, up to the close of 1881, was 251,865. 
Previous to 1843 there were not quite 3000. In that year there 
were 510, the yearly number slowly increasing until in 1850 it 
reached 993. Thereafter the increase was more rapid until 
i860, when there were 4778. During the civil war there was 
a diminution, but when peace was restored the inventive genius 
of the country came into new and larger exercise. In 1866 
there were 9458 patents issued; in 1867 the number rose to 
13,026, with some fluctuations from year to year until 1880, 
when there were 13,947. There was a marked increase in 1881, 
when the whole number of patents, certificates of designs, etc., 
was 16,584. The number of applications received at the Patent- 



PATENTS. PATEXT-RIGHTS. AND PATENTEES. 



433 



office during that year was 30.242, each of which required more 
or less of special investigation, and of these 17,620 applications 
were favorably considered. Nearly 1000 patents during that 
year were granted to foreigners, and 15,118 new patents were 
issued to citizens of the United States, being about one patent 
to every 3300 of the entire population. 

The ratio between the number of patents and that of the 
population presents some curious and not unimportant facts. 
It is much higher in the manufacturing States, gradually de- 
creasing as agriculture predominates over manufacturing, and 
being, least of all in the kk cotton States." In Connecticut a 
patent was issued for every S98 of the population ; in Rhode 
Island, one for every 994; in Massachusetts, one for 1367; in 
Xew York, one for 15S4; in Ohio, one for 2099, being a little 
above the average proportion of the whole Union. The farther 
south we go the less do we find the industry turned in the 
direction of invention. In Virginia there was one patent issued 
to 14.005 of the population; in Georgia, one to 16,582 ; in North 
Carolina, one to 21,871; in South Carolina, one to 22,133; i n 
Alabama, one to 26.861; in Mississippi, one to 27,559. 

The special objects towards which the attention of inventors 
has been largely directed is worthy of note, indicating as it does 
some of the leading interests which have been found to remu- 
nerate labor thus laid out. A somewhat careful analysis of the 
Patent-office Reports was made in 1874, from which it appeared 
that of 168,947 patents issued up to that date, about 6500 were 
for improvements in spinning and weaving ; 6000 for carriages 
and wagons ; 4000 for fire-arms and explosives ; 3500 for railway 
applications; 2500 for improvements in printing; and 2000 for 
sewing-machines and appurtenances. 

The Index to the printed Records of the Patent-office for 
a single year makes a book at least four times as large as this 
volume. It gives, in two separate lists, alphabetically arranged, 
the names of the patentees and the titles of the patents granted 
to them, with the registered number of each patent, the day of 
its issue, and the residence of the patentee. Even from a vol- 
ume apparently so dry as this not a few items of general interest 



434 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



may be gleaned, bearing upon our purpose of setting forth the 
condition and prospects of the various departments of American 
industry. The following are some principal subject-matters of 
the patents issued in 1881, with the number of separate patents 
for each of these subjects. It shows the chief directions towards 
which invention was directed. The same general facts would 
be shown by the Indexes of previous years. In 1881 patents 
were issued — ■ 

For air-compressing machines, 17 ; amalgamating apparatus, 32 ; axle-boxes, 
40 ; axle-lubricators, 15 ; baling-presses, 30 ; barrels, 30 ; beds and bedding, 135 ; 
belts for machinery, 51 ; bicycles, 19 ; billiards, 21 • boiler-furnaces, 22; book- 
holders, 22 • boots and shoes, 156; bottles and bottle-stoppers, 90; bracelets, 
40; brick - machines, 40 ; bridles, 15; brooms and brushes, 40 ; buckles, 50 ; 
burglar- alarms, 22; butter- making, 12; buttons and button machinery, 120; 
cans, 30; caps, 20; car- brakes, 70; car -couplings, 225; cars and car -attach- 
ments, 210; car-wheels, 25 ; carpet stretchers and sweepers, 45 ; carriages, 90; 
cartridges, 45; chains, 50; chairs, 50; churns, 70; cigars and cigarettes, 80; 
clocks, 50; clothes driers and washers, 40; coffee-pots and coffee-mills, 50; 
coffins, 15 ; corn cutters, shellers, etc., 60 ; corsets, 60 ; cotton gins, presses, etc., 
50; cultivators, 90; curtain - fixtures, 30 ; dentists' apparatus, 30; desks, 25 ; 
doors and door-attachments, 50; ear ornaments, 15 ; egg-beaters, 30; electrical 
apparatus, 190 ; elevators, 50 ; engines, 70 ; faucets, 40; fertilizers, 20 ; files, 30; 
filters, 50; fire-alarms, 10; fire-arms, 75; fire-escapes, 25; fire-extinguishers, 
50 ; fishing-rods, 15 ; fruit pickers, driers, etc., 60 ; furnaces and furnace-attach- 
ments, 120 ; gas and gas-lighting, 160 ; gates and gate-fastenings, 85 ; glass and 
glass-ware, 60 ; gloves and glove-fasteners, 30 ; governors for steam-engines, 35 ; 
grain reapers, binders, etc., 200 • grates and grate-fixtures, 30; grist-mills, 50 ; 
hames and halters, 30; hammers, 20; harnesses, 35 ; harrows, 75 ; harvesters, 
100; hats and hat -machinery, 70; hayforks, rakes, presses, etc., 60 ; heating- 
apparatus, 60 ; heel appliances, 20; hinges, 30; hoisting apparatus, 15; hoop- 
machines, 20; horse-detachers, 20; horse-power, 20; horse-shoes, 60; hose and 
hose-apparatus, 35 ; hubs, 30; hydrants, 15 ; hydraulic engines, 25 ; hydrocarbon 
furnaces, etc., 30; ice and ice-cream apparatus, 60: inks and inkstands, 15; 
insect-destroyers, 10 ; iron and steel making, 25 • knitting-machines, 50 ; lacings, 
hooks, studs, etc., 25 ; ladders, 15; lamps, 50; lanterns, 35 ; lasts and lasting- 
machines, 35 ; latches, 30; lathes, 40; life-boats and life-preservers, 20; lifting 
apparatus, 25 ; locks, 60; locomotive-attachments, 60; looms and loom-attach- 
ments, 60 ; lubricators and lubricating attachments, 70 • magnetic machines and 
appliances, 30 ; matches and match-boxes, 20 ; mechanical movements, 25 ; 
milk-coolers, etc., 50; mills and millstones, 75 ; mittens, 15 ; motors and motive 
apparatus, 70; mowers, 25; musical instruments, 70 ; nails and nailing-machines, 
35 ; nuts, nut-locks, etc., 60 ; oil cans, cups, etc., 40 ; ore crushers, furnaces, etc., 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 



435 



ioo ; packing for engines, 30; pantaloon-guards, 20; paper bags and boxes, 50; 
paper - making, 100; parers and corers for fruit, 15 ; pens and pen-holders, 45; 
photographic apparatus, 40 ; pianos and piano-attachments, 45 ; pins, 20 ; pipes 
for draining, etc., 50; planes and planing-machines, 25 ; planters for grain, 110 ; 
ploughs and ploughshares, 170; printing presses and apparatus, 100; pulleys, 
40; pumps and pumping apparatus, 180; railway joints, ties, rails, etc., 80; 
railway signals, 40; railway switches, arresters, etc., 70; reaping-machines, 15; 
refrigerating apparatus, 90 • rock-drillers, 25 ; rocking-chairs, 20; rotary engines, 
30; rubber compounds, 30; saddles, 25; sashes and sash apparatus, 60; saws 
and sawing apparatus, 130; sawing-machines, 35 ; scales, 30 ; scarfs and adjuncts, 
15 ; scrapers, 25 ; screws, 45 ; seats for carriages, etc., 20; seed -sowers, 50 ; 
sewage apparatus, 25; sewing-machines, 350 • shirts, 20; shoes and appurte- 
nances, 40 ; shutter-fasteners, 15; skates, 38 ; sleds and sleighs, 30 ; smoke- 
consumers, 15; soaps, 20; soldering apparatus, 40; spark-arresters, 30; spin- 
ning-machinery, 70; spoke-machines, 15; springs for beds, 30; steam-boilers, 
45; steam-engines and appurtenances, 1 10 ; steering apparatus, 20 ; stoves, 
200; sugar-making, 30; tables and appurtenances, 40 ; telegraphic apparatus, 
130; telephones and apparatus, 200 ; thill-coupling, 40 ; threshing-machines, 
45 ; fire-apparatus, 25 ; tobacco manufactures, 40 ; toys, 90; trucks, 35 ; trunks, 
25; trusses, 15; type - writers, etc., 35; umbrellas, 20 ; valves, 130; vapor- 
burners, 20; vehicle-springs, 44; vehicle-wheels, 30; velocipedes, 50; wagons 
and appendages, 70; water-closets, 30; water-meters, 20; water-wheels, 20; 
weather-strips, 10; wells, 30; wheels, 40 ; wheelbarrows, 10; whips, 20; wind- 
mills, 50; windows, 30; wire - apparatus, 65; wood -work machinery, 30; 
wrenches, 25. 

The foregoing partial list comprises several thousands of 
separate patents, but the whole number issued during the year 
amounts to more than 16,000, each of which is pronounced by 
the Patent - office authorities to be both "useful" and "new;" 
and the patentees of each of them had sufficient confidence in 
the paying qualities of the invention to induce them to prepare 
the necessary specifications, drawings, and models, and to pay 
the $35 required to obtain a patent. Quite suggestive, also, are 
many of the apparently trivial matters for which patents have 
been taken out. One would imagine that in the single year 
1 88 1 the whole field for inventive ingenuity had been gone 
over, but the records of any one of a score of years would pre- 
sent a very similar showing, all tending to evince that there is 
really no limit to the possible field. The following are some of 
the more singular things which were made the subjects of one 
or more patents : 

24 



436 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Adding -machines, addressing -machines, advertising -balloons, advertising 
washboards, bag- holders, bats for tennis, batons for policemen, bean-cutters, 
beehives, billiard -cue tips, bird-cages, book - holders, boot - brushing ma- 
chines, bouquet -holders, bottle - stoppers, bungs for barrels, candy -packages, 
card-frames, carpet-sweepers, carving -forks, cash -carriers, cattle -ties, cheese- 
hoops, Christmas-trees, cigar- lighters, closet- seats, clothes-pins, coops for 
poultry, corkscrews, curry-combs, decoy-ducks, doll-houses, dress-shields, 
drinking- cups, ear- piercers, exercising- machines, eye-glasses, fare - registers, 
feed-bags, fish-hooks, flower-pots, fly-traps, game -counters, garment -stretch- 
ers, garters, grub -pullers, gun-wads, hair -crimpers, hat-racks, head-rests, 
heel-plates, hitching -posts, hog- nose trimmers, incubators, ironing-boards, 
kaleidoscopes, knife- cleaners, lamp- extinguishers, lemon-squeezers, lunch- 
boxes, mail -bags, mop -wringers, moth- catchers, mouse -traps, overalls, pan- 
taloon-guards, peach -pitters, picture -cords, pigeon -starters, pin -holders, poul- 
try-crates, quoits, razor-strops, rein -holders, sample -stands, saw- setters, scis- 
sor-holders, screw- drivers, shawl- straps, shoe buttons and fasteners, shoul- 
der-pads, skate-fasteners, sled-steerers, soap-bubble pipes, spectacle-cases, 
spittoons, stocking- supporters, suspender ends, swimming apparatus, teapot 
handles, ticket-cases, till-alarms, toy- pistols, toy-puzzles, toy- wind wheels, 
travelling-bags, tuning- hammers, violin - rests, washboards, watch-guards, 
watch -winders, well-poles, whip-handles, whiskey- racks. 

Number of Inventors. — Only an approximate estimate can 
be made of the number of living patentees in the United States. 
The number of separate patents issued during the last twenty- 
years exceeds 200,000. Many persons have taken out only one 
or two patents, some from five to ten, a few have taken out 
several scores. The most prolific living patentee is Thomas A. 
Edison. The first record which we find of his name was in 
1872, when he secured 33 patents, all relating to telegraphy. In 
the eight succeeding years the annual average was about 13, 
chiefly for telegraphs and telephones, until 1 881, when he took 
out 69 ; so that in ten years the number of his patented inven- 
tions was 206 — about one in every fifteen working days for the 
entire period — nearly all of them relating to electricity. The 
scanty accessible data indicate that there are in the United 
States more than 25,000 living patentees of "new and useful 
inventions." By far the greater number of these are regularly 
occupied in one or another of the professions, trades, or occupa- 
tions, and are thus classed in the Census Report, and not as 
" inventors." Thus, Bogardus is probably included among " ma- 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 437 



chinists," Ericsson among the "engineers," Edison among the 
" electricians." 

Profits of Patents. — No approximate estimate can be 
made of the average pecuniary value of a patent. A few have 
netted millions to the inventors, or to those who have pur- 
chased rights in them. Among these are patents for sewing- 
machines, reaping-machines, railway - cars, India-rubber goods, 
and steel-making. Elias Howe, in 1846, took out a patent for 
a sewing-machine which embodied a claim for making a seam 
by the use of a curved eye-pointed needle. His own machines 
were far from successful, but this single specification of his 
claim covered something essential to the construction of any 
useful machine ; and for the right to use this needle he received 
a large royalty from other manufacturers which for several 
years amounted to $200,000 a year. In all he received about 
$2,000,000 for the use of this invention. Several other patents 
for improvements in sewing-machines have been not less re- 
munerative. McCormick's patents for reaping-machines have 
proved perhaps quite as profitable, and the list of very lucrative 
patents might be largely extended. 

But, apart from such extraordinary successes, there are innu- 
merable other patents, each of which has produced large in- 
comes. Many of these, indeed, are for the cheap production of 
articles of which large numbers are sold, though the price of 
each one is very small. Matches may be taken as a good illus- 
tration of this class of patents. Not long ago a clever lady 
wrote, probably half in jest, " If some ingenious woman will in- 
vent a button that will stay upon boots, or something more last- 
ing than the fasteners now in use, she will reap a large pecun- 
iary harvest." Such an invention has been made and patented. 
It consists merely of a bit of slender, flattened wire, half an inch 
long, bent into a peculiar shape so that it can be passed in an 
instant through the eye of a shoe-button, which it will hold se- 
curely in its place. It is a very simple thing, but it is both 
" new and useful," and costs less than a penny ; and, when one 
considers the number of shoe-buttons in constant use, he will 
comprehend that there is a competence if not " millions in it." 



438 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



What proportion of the patents taken out are profitable ? is 
a question easy to ask but difficult to answer. Some facts in 
regard to British patents may throw a little light upon the sub- 
ject. In Great Britain, as has already been shown, it costs £2^ 
to secure a patent for three years, ^50 more to renew it for 
another four years, and £\oo for a further renewal for seven 
years. Now of the 4000 or 5000 patents annually taken out, 
about 70 per cent, are allowed to expire at the end of three 
years, and of the remainder only 20 per cent, are kept up after 
the first seven years. This appears to indicate that not quite 
one-third of the patents have proved, or appear to be likely to 
prove, sufficiently valuable to make it worth while to pay ^"50 
for a further four years' possession of the patent-right ; and after 
the expiration of seven years only about six per cent, of the 
whole are worth £100 for seven years more. Many of each 
class probably have some value, but only the six per cent, of the 
whole belonging to the third class are thought to be worth ^100 
for a further seven years' exclusive possession of the right. A 
patent which is not worth that much cannot be regarded as a 
very valuable one. It is quite impossible to say how far this 
proportion of valuable patents holds good for the United States. 
It may perhaps be inferred that the much greater cost of secur- 
ing a British patent deters many inventors from taking out pat- 
ents who would have secured them could it have been done as 
cheaply as with us ; otherwise it is not easy to understand why 
in Great Britain only one patent is annually issued for about 
7000 of the population, while in the United States the ratio is 
one to 3300; this apparent difference is, however, partially offset 
by the fact that in the United States several separate patents 
are sometimes required to cover what in Great Britain may be 
included in one. 

It must be borne in mind that the actual money value of an 
invention is not necessarily limited by that of the patent taken 
out for it, which merely gives it the additional worth of an ex- 
clusive right to its use during the unexpired term of the patent. 
If an invention is valueless in itself, the exclusive right to its 
use is of no value. The present worth of a valuable patent di- 



SAINT CECILIA. 
See Note 31. 



I 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 441 



minishes as the term approaches its close. The £75 paid for 
a British patent for seven years may have been wisely laid out, 
while the same amount — not to say nearly twice as much — 
would have been thrown away upon another seven years' exten- 
sion. Or an invention valuable at one time may have become 
superseded by a subsequent one which produces the same result 
better or more cheaply. Or, again, the thing produced by the 
invention may have gone out of use. There have been patents 
for hoop-skirts which w r ere lucrative a few years ago, but are 
now without value. If custom or fashion should proscribe the 
wearing of corsets, not one of the 60 patents taken out for them 
in 1 88 1 would be worth a dollar. And again, an invention may 
have a great value, to which the exclusive right of using it 
would add little or nothing ; no one but the inventor of it might 
ever have occasion to use it, although he may use it with great 
profit. It should not, therefore, be assumed that an invention is 
without use merely because a patent for it has no apparent 
value. 

Circumstances often arise which give a high value to an in- 
vention where there had been no seeming use for it before. 
Take a single example: In 1843 Theodore Timby, a New York 
inventor, filed a caveat for a revolving turret for naval warfare, 
and afterwards, at intervals, obtained patents for " a revolving 
tower for offensive and defensive warfare," and endeavored to 
procure its adoption by the United States Government. Its 
practicability was admitted, but it was affirmed to be wholly su- 
perfluous, because the existing fortifications were far more than 
were necessary. He made several models of his invention, one 
of which was sent to the government of France and another to 
the Emperor of China, but nothing came of them, although in 
1848 a Congressional Committee, of which Jefferson Davis was 
a member, made a favorable report upon this invention to the 
Secretary of War. Nothing was done in the matter until the 
outbreak of the civil war ; then Mr. Ericsson planned the Mon- 
itor, an essential feature of which was Timby 's turret, and for 
the right to use this $35,000 was paid by the constructors, with 
a further sum, amounting to $100,000 in all, for other vessels 



442 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



should they be ordered by the Government. Thus an invention 
which had remained unused for more than a dozen years with 
no profit to the inventor anticipated a great emergency and 
amply repaid him for his labor. And, moreover, had not Erics- 
son's Monitor proved an overmatch for the Merrimac in March, 
1862, the history of our civil war might have been quite different 
from what it has been. 

Upon the whole, there can be no doubt that in our country, 
where the cost is so slight, it is advisable that the inventor or 
discoverer of any valuable process or implement should secure 
a patent for it. The loss in any case will be trifling and the 
gain may be very large. 

There is no danger that the field for profitable invention and 
discovery will ever be exhausted ; on the contrary, it widens be- 
fore us, day by day, in manifold directions. We are only begin- 
ning to discover the uses to which electricity may be put; not 
a week passes in which chemistry does not provide some new 
uses to which the most common materials may be profitably 
applied ; and the man who discovers any such use has only to 
thank his own lack of sagacity if he fail to reap the reward. 
Nothing which has a demonstrable money value need be long 
without finding a purchaser for all that it can be shown to be 
worth. In the department of mechanics there is no limit to 
the invention of new devices and the improvement of old ones. 

In Harper s Magazine (December, 1874, January, February, 
March, and April, 1875) is a series of exceedingly instructive 
papers on the " Mechanical Progress of the United States " # 
during the first century of our national existence. It passes in 
rapid review over the main inventions and discoveries which 
had, up to that date, not only marked the progress of the Amer- 
ican people, but had in no small degree contributed to it. But 
if any one will pursue the investigation through the eight or 

* These papers are by Mr. E. H. Knight. They are collected in a volume 
entitled The First Century of the Republic : A Review of American Progress, which 
also contains papers by fifteen other writers of the highest eminence in their 
several departments, the whole constituting a historical work of unusual in- 
terest and value. 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 



443 



nine years since that time, he will see that during no previous 
period has our progress in this direction been so marked and 
decided. 

Requisites for an Inventor. — The inventive faculty in 
any department is to a great extent an original endowment of 
nature. Great inventions sometimes appear to be the immediate 
result of accident, but such fortunate "accidents" occur to those 
only who are capable of understanding them. Galileo was not 
the first man who had seen the swinging of the lamp suspended 
from the ceiling of a church in Pisa, but he was the first one 
to whom that common accident revealed that all the oscillations 
of any pendulum were performed in equal times ; and to his use 
of that "accident" we owe our clocks. Many inventions of the 
highest value have been made by men whose previous occupa- 
tions lay in quite other directions — Arkwright was a barber, 
Cartwright a clergyman, Peele a farmer, Watt a mathematical 
instrument- maker, Fulton a miniature-painter, Whittemore a 
gunsmith, Whitney a law -student, Blanchard a nail -maker, 
Morse a portrait-painter. But all these men had the genius of 
invention, and accident did nothing more for them than the 
same accidents might have done for thousands of others who 
did not know how to avail themselves of them. There are well- 
authenticated instances where the essential thing needed to per- 
fect an invention came to the mind of the inventor in a dream. 
Such is said to be the case with Amos Whittemore, the earliest 
great American inventor, whose patent for a wiring-machine for 
cotton and wool cards brought him $150,000 at the close of the 
last century. But we may be sure the minds of these men 
had been absorbed in the idea, and the dream was the outcome 
of intense waking thought. 

To be a successful inventor one must first find out some 
want, either already existing or which may be created, and then 
search for the means of meeting that want. He only avails 
himself of natural laws, and he must find out what are the 
laws which apply to the case in hand. He must know, for ex- 
ample, that no combination of wheels, springs, and levers can 
create power ; that no watch will run unless it is wound up, 



444 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



and that it will stop when the force, external to itself, is ex- 
pended. Then, when he knows what cannot by possibility be 
done, leaving that aside, he must consider what may possibly 
be done ; and between the certainties on either side there is a 
wide limit of possibilities. Not everything which has been as- 
sumed to be impossible is really so. The philosophers of Sala- 
manca agreed with Columbus that a ship might perhaps sail 
half-way round the globe and so reach the antipodes ; but they 
maintained that it could never get back again, because, in order 
to do so from either direction, it must sail up a hill whose 
height was equal to the diameter of the globe — a most mani- 
fest impossibility, according to their conceptions. In the first 
year of this century Jacquard invented a machine for weaving 
nets without the use of a shuttle. Inventor and machine were 
brought to Paris and underwent an examination by Bonaparte, 
then First Consul, and Carnot, his able Minister of War. "Are 
you the man," sneered Carnot, " who pretends to do the impos- 
sible — to tie a knot in a stretched string?" Jacquard was not 
long in showing that his machine would do that very thing — 
the assumed impossibility was quite possible. A hundred men 
may have wholly failed to do a thing, while the next one may 
succeed, and the line between failure and success may be an 
almost imperceptible one. Very often one's own failures or 
those of others are guide-posts on the way towards success. 
Quite as many men have failed from disheartenment in follow- 
ing the right path upon which they had entered, as from at- 
tempting to proceed in some wrong direction. If one has good 
reason to believe that he is upon the right track, let him per- 
severe, and do his best to go ahead — Mr. Faintheart came no 
nearer the Celestial City than did Mr. Obstinate. 

The better a person is acquainted with what has been done 
or left undone by others the more likely is he to succeed as an 
inventor. An inventor often spends months or even years in 
perfecting a device for a certain purpose, and when he has done 
this and applies for a patent he learns that his invention had 
been anticipated by some other device, either identical with his 
own or similar to it in some essential respects. All his labor, in 



PATENTS, PATENT-RIGHTS, AND PATENTEES. 



445 



that case, has been thrown away. Not only is he debarred from 
obtaining a patent, but he cannot even make use of that which 
he honestly believed to be his own invention, for some one else 
had forestalled him in it and had already received the exclusive 
right to its use. It is hard enough for one to find that he has 
failed to accomplish what he had in view, but it is still harder 
to discover, after one has succeeded in doing what he hoped to 
do, that the work has all been thrown away. This caution is 
especially applicable to mechanical inventions. 

The application for a patent demands great care. The "pe- 
tition," which must be in writing, must state^ upon oath that the 
applicant believes himself to be the inventor; and this must be 
accompanied by a full description of the invention, with draw- 
ings or models if the case admit of it. The specifications must 
be so clear and definite that any person versed in the matter 
would be able from them to make use of the invention. If it be 
for a composition of matter, specimens of the ingredients must 
be furnished ; if it be for a machine, the best mode of working it 
must be set forth. The essential thing is, that the description 
be full and intelligible, setting forth just what the inventor 
claims to be new. If anything claimed is not new, the whole 
patent will be voided thereby : a patent defective in one point 
is defective in all ; but provision is made for remedying any error 
that may have been committed inadvertently and without fraud- 
ulent intent. A patent-right, being wholly an artificial one, is 
not only created by law, but is limited by law ; and, while it be- 
hooves the inventor to be acquainted with the general aim and 
scope of the patent law, it is usually unwise for him to rely solely 
upon his own knowledge in drawing up his specifications and 
claim. There are lawyers and patent - agents who make this 
their specialty, and it is far safer in most cases for the inventor 
to consult with such a person. Cases are numerous in which 
applications are refused, or even patents already granted are 
declared void, by reason of defects or ambiguity in the speci- 
fications. 

There is no reason to apprehend that the future will be less 
favorable for the exercise of the inventive faculty than the past 



446 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



has been. During the past ten years more valuable inventions 
were made in the United States than in the whole preceding 
century; and there is every ground to believe that the coming 
decade will repeat the story of the last in innumerable forms. 
Those who lead on the advance in any direction, or who in 
any good degree contribute to it, will, if they are sagacious 
as well as ingenious, be the ones to profit by it. The law of 
patents gives them abundant facilities and all needed protection. 
If they have the wisdom to avail themselves of their opportuni- 
ties, they may reasonably expect to reap abundantly the harvest 
of the seeds which they hay^e sown. 



MINOR PROFESSIONAL AVOCATIONS. 



447 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

MINOR PROFESSIONAL AVOCATIONS. 

THE leading professional occupations — Divinity, Law, Med- 
icine, and Teaching — have been considered in a previous 
chapter. There remain some others which must not be passed 
over. 

The Stage — dramatic and lyric — affords a desirable avoca- 
tion for far fewer persons than would be supposed from the 
prominence which it holds in the press and in conversation. 
The Census of 1880 reports 4812 professional actors, of whom 
2992 were males and 1820 females, only 63 of both sexes being 
under the age of fifteen. The number, however, has much more 
than doubled since 1870, when there were 2053 actors, of whom 
692 were females : the number of females upon the stage having 
thus more than quadrupled within ten years. This great in- 
crease is owing to a marked change in the character of the plays 
presented — the spectacular character, in which the exhibition of 
the person and gorgeousness of costume, to no small extent, take 
the place of dramatic representation. The above figures do not, 
however, include all those who appear on the stage in spectacles 
and the like, and who are also engaged more or less in other 
occupations. 

There is a peculiar fascination surrounding the stage, of 
which only the illuminated side is presented to the uninstruct- 
ed spectator. To him or her it seems that no life could be 
happier than that of representing the heroes or heroines of the 
drama, cheered on by the plaudits of the spectators. Nothing 
would seem to be easier than to pronounce with proper tones 
the words of the dramatist, accompanied by appropriate attitudes 



us 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



and fitting gestures. Then again, there is a current impression 
that the earnings of actors are very large. It is bruited about 
that this professional star or that receives for an hour or two of 
a weeks evenings more than most men and women can earn by 
the steady industry of a month, six months, or a year ; or that 
this or the other foreign celebrity has paid us a professional 
visit of a few months, and gone home with tens or hundreds of 
thousands of dollars. All this may be true — and pity it is so — 
in a few isolated cases ; but, taken in the aggregate, there is no 
doubt that the average net earnings of actors are very small, and 
their necessary expenditures for costumes and general outfit are 
very large, while the occupation is a very precarious one. 

Mere pecuniary considerations are not the only ones to be 
regarded in choosing an occupation. The healthfulness of it is 
to be carefully looked at, and moral soundness is assuredly of 
quite as much value as bodily healthfulness. Now, whichever 
it ought to be or might be, it is a conceded fact that the social 
and moral surroundings of the stage are, and always have been, 
bad. We do not deny — on the contrary, we most directly and 
gladly affirm — that there have been, and now are, men and 
women on the stage of noble character and pure lives. All the 
more honor to them that they have passed, and are now pass- 
ing, unscathed through a fiery ordeal. 

It would perhaps be a thankless task to attempt to dissuade 
those who have, or fancy that they have, high dramatic talent 
from going upon the stage, if the opportunity presents itself ; 
but all experience and observation show that by far the greater 
portion of these will find to their sorrow that they have sadly 
mischosen. It need hardly be more than intimated that this is 
true of women even more emphatically than of men. It is not 
easy to conceive of a position more fraught with peril than that 
of a handsome young woman when she first becomes an actress. 
The path upon which she has entered is a perilous one, marked 
through its whole course by the monuments of blighted hopes 
and ruined reputations. 

The lyric stage, or opera, presents some special character- 
istics worthy of note. The possession of an exceptionally fine 



JACQUES CARTIER SETTING UP A CROSS AT GASPE. 
See Note 32. 



MINOR PROFESSIONAL AVOCATIONS. 



451 



voice, especially in a young girl, is a prospective mine of wealth ; 
but it has come to be accepted as an axiom that the voice can 
be thoroughly cultivated and developed only under some one of 
a few foreign masters in Italy, France, or Germany. This cult- 
ure must commence early, and at that age when the pupil is 
passing, or has just passed, from girlhood to womanhood. The 
girl who goes abroad for such instruction, unless she can go 
surrounded by home influences, runs a fearful risk — one which 
should be well calculated at the start. The position of prima 
donna in opera or the concert -room is beyond all question a 
brilliant one ; but if one will read the biographies of famous 
songstresses, as well as of famous actresses, there will be found 
abundant monitions that it is often purchased at too high a 
cost. 

Music Teachers and Musicians. — It is coming to be more 
and more recognized that singing should be a part of our ele- 
mentary education, and probably a considerable proportion of 
the teachers in our schools can give some instruction in this. 
There is no good reason why instruction in instrumental music 
should not be more widely diffused than it is. Perhaps it will 
not be possible at present to introduce this into primary schools; 
but in those of a higher grade — those in which a piano is a part 
of the apparatus — such pupils as show an aptitude should be 
taught to play upon this as well as to listen to it. In private 
schools, girls, as a rule, are taught to play ; boys rather as an ex- 
ception to it. A comparison of the Census Reports for 1870 and 
1880 will indicate the advance made in this direction. In 1870 
there were 16,010 professional musicians and teachers of music; 
in 1880 there were 30,477 — an increase of 90 per cent. This 
increase of teachers, in a ratio three times greater than that of 
the population, implies a somewhat corresponding increase in 
the number of pupils. The Census of 1880 does not discrimi- 
nate between professional musicians and teachers of music, but 
in 1870 there were reported about three of the latter to tw r o 
of the former; and it may be assumed that the proportion has 
not been essentially changed. The former were almost wholly 
males; of the latter a considerable majority were females. Tak- 



452 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



ing the two together, there were, in 1880, 17,295 males, 13,182 
females. 

Many male teachers of music are also musicians — that is, 
they practise their art, as well as give instruction in it, as a 
remunerative occupation. They perform not only in public con- 
certs, but for private companies, and are paid for their services. 
This is rare with women, but there is no reason why it should be 
so. There are great musical compositions which require the com- 
pass of the opera-house or the concert-hall, but apart from these 
there is no place in which music can be so thoroughly enjoyed 
as in the parlor ; and there are teachers of music who, while they 
lack the nerve and force of execution requisite for the concert- 
room, are abundantly capable of executing parlor music. Why 
should not these hold themselves ready to sing or play, and 
charge a fixed and stated price for so doing, precisely as they do 
for giving lessons ? They would be all the better teachers for 
being able to practise their art for direct gain and without un- 
dergoing the weary routine of imparting the rudiments and cor- 
recting the errors of their pupils. Here, indeed, as it seems to 
us, is an almost untried and yet quite feasible opportunity for 
professional teachers of music, and more especially for women. 

The Platform. — Some fifty years ago an enterprise was set 
on foot which seemed likely to result in a decided change in our 
modes of amusement and popular instruction. In almost every 
city, town, and village, associations were formed which under- 
took to provide for a succession of lectures or recitations from 
persons who, it was thought, were able to amuse or instruct a 
miscellaneous audience. The name of " Lyceum " was applied 
to this system of associations. These lectures have been pro- 
ductive of good in many ways. The lectures of such men as 
Silliman, Agassiz, and Mitchel did much to popularize science, 
and for a time it seemed as though nearly every brilliant or pro- 
found writer — and not a few who were far enough from being 
profound or brilliant — had joined the Lyceum. Curiosity had 
very much to do with this. People naturally wished to see and 
hear men who had made themselves famous or even notorious, 
and more especially if they came from abroad. Crowds thronged 

/ 



MINOR PROFESSIONAL AVOCATIONS. 



453 



to see and hear Kossuth and Dickens, Thackeray and Tupper, 
Gavazzi and Oscar Wilde. But the Lyceum has fallen far short 
of becoming what it was expected to grow into. The " lecturers " 
as such numbered only a few bright names ; those of Emerson, 
Gough, Lord, Wendell Phillips, and Anna Dickinson, in effect 
make up our list of popular lecturers, distinctively such. But 
there are not a few who have found lecturing highly remunera- 
tive as a subsidiary occupation ; among such are Bayard Taylor, 
Chapin, Beecher, Curtis, Holmes, and Saxe. 

The really popular lecture — the one which will pay — is a 
special kind of composition. A profound essay — unless Em- 
erson's are to be made an exception — is not a lecture. Yet 
a lecture must bear reading as well as hearing, although it is 
to be heard rather than read. It must have points. A single 
dull or heavy passage in a discourse of an hour is inadmissible. 
If one is to repeat a discourse a score or perhaps a hundred 
times, and be paid for each repetition, he can afford to put into 
it his best thought, expressed in his best manner. The popular 
lecturer, moreover, should have an attractive delivery. His first 
aim is to please, and positive instruction is a secondary purpose. 
There are very many men who may be wholly incapable of writ- 
ing a profound and exhaustive book on any subject who yet 
have thought enough upon many subjects to enable them to 
produce several attractive lectures which, properly delivered, 
will put money in their purse. This topic will be further con- 
sidered in the chapter upon Popular Amusements. 

Canvassers and Agents. — The selling of wares by travel- 
ling agents is coming more and more into use. In many cases 
it is of decided convenience to the purchaser, doing away with 
the necessity of his visiting the great markets whenever, at a 
loss of time and money, he has occasion to replenish his stock. 
It is quite as easy for one commercial traveller to visit a hun- 
dred customers as for any one of these to visit the warehouse 
of the wholesale dealer. The travelling salesman holds a more 
responsible position than the resident one, for he more fully 
represents his principal, and acts less immediately under his 
personal direction. As a matter of fact, the merchant sends 



454 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



his most capable and most trustworthy clerks as commercial 
travellers. 

The book-trade is, in important respects, especially adapted 
to this method. The purchaser of groceries or dry-goods knows 
pretty nearly what there is in the market, and what and how 
much of it he wants. Most of those who would be buyers of 
books labor under a disadvantage in this respect. In cases not 
a few the buyer does not imagine that he needs a book at all 
until he has seen it ; or, if he happen to know that he needs a 
book which would give him this information or that, he rarely 
knows what that book is, or which is the best of several of which 
he may have heard. It happens continually that what was 
once the best attainable book upon any given subject is so far 
inferior to one which may now be had as to be practically worth- 
less. It is not many years since Calmet's " Dictionary of the 
Bible " was an indispensable part of a clergyman's library. It 
is now little better than none at all, simply because M'Clintock 
and Strong's " Cyclopaedia " is infinitely its superior. The pro- 
fessional man may be presumed to keep himself fairly posted 
in the literature of his profession ; but comparatively few people 
are in a position to know what books would be useful or even 
interesting to them. It is a part of the business of the travel- 
ling bookseller, as the canvasser or book-agent should be styled, 
to supply this information. Those who should be his custom- 
ers will not come to him, and he must therefore go to them. 
If he can show them that such and such a book will be useful 
to them or their families, they will purchase ; but not other- 
wise. 

The first requisite for success is that the book which he 
hopes to sell is really a good one. The times are pretty well 
past when mere trash can be palmed off upon the public. If a 
man has been once deceived in that way he will in the future 
steer clear of the person who has cheated him. One chief 
guarantee that a book is a good one is that it bears the imprint 
of a responsible publisher; for it may be safely assumed that 
such a publisher will not risk his business reputation by issuing 
a book which he has not taken care to assure himself is a good 



MINOR PROFESSIONAL AVOCATIONS. 455 



one of its class. Every important publishing-house has in its 
employ a corps of " readers," thoroughly versed in the various 
departments of knowledge, whose special business it is to make 
a careful examination of such books as are laid before them 
for that purpose. In case the book be one of importance, 
and especially if it is to be offered to the public through can- 
vassers, it will most probably be examined and vouched for by 
more than one critical reader. The publisher cannot afford to 
run any risk upon this point. The judicious canvasser will be 
chary of undertaking to work for any publisher whose name is 
not a warranty for the value of the book. More especially is 
this the case when the work is to be put forth in successive 
parts. It is by no means rare that such a work is well begun 
but poorly continued and finished. The canvasser is in a wide 
sense a guarantor of his principal to the purchaser. 

It is not to be expected that the canvasser will be acquainted 
with the entire range of books which are offered for sale, but 
it is indispensable that he should be thoroughly acquainted with 
the merits of those which he offers. It is not enough for him 
to assure the person whom he approaches that the book has 
merits ; he must be able to point out what those merits are, and 
how the work will be useful to this particular individual. Some 
kinds of books are useful to every one. To no intelligent per- 
son, for example, can the history of his own country be other- 
wise than desirable. The travelling bookseller may very safely 
assure every person that a well written American History is 
worth to him far more than its cost, while he would not try to 
urge a book relating to cattle-raising upon a city clergyman. 

The canvasser must needs be a man of good address. There 
are some men whose first appearance is a letter of recommenda- 
tion, and others who bear the imprint of " bore " upon their 
foreheads. One's first thought upon being accosted by such 
a man is how to get rid of him the most speedily, and the read- 
iest way is to give a curt " I don't want it," when invited "Just 
to look " at any article — say a book, or the prospectus of one. 
The canvasser must be careful not to expose himself to this 
preliminary rebuff, which will, in four cases out of five, be a final 

25 



456 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



one. On the other hand, the battle is half won when you have 
brought your auditor to the point of looking carefully at what 
you have to offer, and hearing what you have to say — provided 
always that you have something to show worth his looking at, 
or to say worth his listening to. 

Nothing can be more erroneous than the idea that a man 
who has failed in everything else can pick up a livelihood as a 
canvasser. His occupation is one that demands superior ability, 
one every way honorable, and one of which he has just reason 
to be proud. He brings before a large number of persons, who 
would not otherwise have known of them, works which it is for 
their advantage to possess, and he undertakes to point out their 
merits. If he succeed he has done them good service. The 
great Bacon said of one of his works : " These are the medi- 
tations of Francis of Verulam, which, that posterity should be 
aware of, he deemed for their benefit." The travelling book- 
seller might, in the same spirit, say to his auditor : " This is such 
and such a work, which, that you should purchase, I deemed 
for your benefit." 

It has been shown that the occupation of a canvasser requires 
for high success some high capacities, and affords a wide scope 
for their exercise ; but underlying all these is that of personal 
character. Few men are brought into such immediate personal 
contact with those with whom they transact business. The or- 
dinary purchaser must, in a great measure, take the merits of a 
book upon trust. Usually he knows nothing of it until the can- 
vasser has brought it before him. He can know but little of it 
until he has read it, or at least enough of it to show him that it 
is not worth reading; and if he find that he has been deceived 
he will be pretty sure not to be taken in again by the same 
person. 

That a canvasser is of known good repute is a great point in 
his favor. Other things being equal, it would be well for him to 
work in a region where he is known ; but if, for any reason, it is 
advisable for him to operate elsewhere, he should go there well 
recommended. The mere fact that he is engaged with a pub- 
lishing-house of acknowledged repute is of itself a letter of intro- 



MINOR PROFESSIONAL AVOCATIONS. 



457 



duction and recommendation. It shows that they place confi- 
dence in him, and it may be fairly assumed that they have not 
done so without good reason. It is not likely that he will go to 
any district in which there is not somebody who is acquainted 
with him, or some one who knows him : a letter of introduction 
from that person is in every way desirable. A general letter of 
favorable introduction is a good thing, but such a special one is 
worth securing. One such acquaintanceship naturally leads to 
others. It is like a pebble dropped into the water: the ripples 
succeed each other in ever-widening circles. 

It is altogether a mistake to look upon this occupation as 
necessarily a mere temporary one, to be taken up for a time 
when one is, as the phrase goes, " out of employment," and to be 
laid aside as soon as something else turns up ; yet such tempo- 
rary employment is not unfrequently desirable and sometimes 
unavoidable, and there are few avocations in w 7 hich spare time 
may be more profitably utilized ; but the business may be made 
a permanent one. This business will certainly be carried on by 
some one, and men naturally prefer buying of those from whom 
they have been accustomed to purchase. 

There is one thing characteristic of book -buying more than 
almost anything else — the desire for reading grows with its grat- 
ification. When one readable book has been introduced in a 
family, the members will not long be contented with that. A 
source of enjoyment hitherto unknown has been discovered ; the 
single book first bought is apt to be the beginning of a fair col- 
lection. Then, again, the desire for books spreads from family 
to family throughout an entire neighborhood, especially among 
the rising generation, who are almost unconsciously growing up 
in an atmosphere of books. Two generations ago it was an 
almost exceptional case when a dozen books were to be found in 
a fairly well-to-do country dwelling in New England. There 
were not more than this number in the house of the father of 
him who writes these pages. The clergyman of the village had 
one of the best libraries in the county, yet it was all held in one 
little room. History was represented by Rollins "Ancient His- 
tory," Hume's " England," and Weems's " Life of Washington." 



458 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



In fiction there were " Thaddeus of Warsaw," the " Scottish 
Chiefs," and one or two of Scott's novels. In poetry there were 
" Paradise Lost," Thomson's " Seasons," Campbell's " Pleasures 
of Hope," Akenside's " Pleasures of the Imagination," and By- 
ron's " Bride of Abydos." It was a great day for the village 
when a newspaper was set up there, and the printer, who was 
also the editor, opened a " Circulating Library," containing not 
less than three hundred volumes of miscellaneous reading. 
There was not in the region anything like such a collection, 
unless it was in the library of Middlebury College, twenty miles 
distant. It would be a curious matter to find out how many 
books are now to be found in this district. 

The bearing of all this upon the subject in hand is evident. 
This immense increase in the demand for books is in no small 
degree owing to their introduction by canvassers ; and the same 
thing is now going on still more notably all over the country. 
A thoughtful writer avers that the fact that our Western States 
grow up into civilization without passing through a period of 
barbarism is to be attributed more to the efforts of missionaries 
than to anything else. Quite as much, w r e imagine, is it owing 
to the itinerant booksellers who have created the present desire 
for literature, to satisfy which the future will present great op- 
portunities for canvassers. The avocation, judiciously prose- 
cuted, is now a lucrative one, and there is every prospect of its 
becoming more so. This is probably the most systematic busi- 
ness in which one can embark, and therefore success is more 
certain than in mercantile enterprises. Failures in other lines 
generally result from lack of system ; in the subscription-book 
trade from lack of ability. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 459 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 

THE paths to success in life have been pretty well marked 
out in many directions by the foot-prints of those who 
have gone before us. One can now estimate, with an approach 
to accuracy, what he may hope to earn by agriculture, or in any 
of the usual trades and professions. Of course, exceptional cases 
continually occur. Now and then a man discovers an oil-well 
upon his farm, or finds veins of silver in the rocky ledges of his 
pasture. Now and then a single invention proves a mine of 
wealth ; or a series of well-planned or lucky adventures in trade 
or speculation make him a millionaire. But lying between 
these extremes, upon either hand, there is a wide field traversed 
by numerous paths, not a few of which give promise of abun- 
dant reward to those who shall wisely enter upon and pursue 
them. Some of these have already been spoken of with more 
or less detail. It is here proposed to speak of others of this 
class. 

Silver and gold, iron and copper, lead and zinc, are found 
with us in abundance. But tin, which is quite as valuable as 
copper, lead, or zinc, has been supposed not to be found in the 
United States in any appreciable quantities. We import from 
Great Britain block tin and tin plates to the amount of some 
$20,000,000 a year. Since the census year, 1880, it is affirmed, 
large deposits of tin ore have been discovered in California. As 
we are writing this chapter (September, 1883) a committee of 
the United States Senate, appointed to investigate the condition 
of education and labor, is in session in New York. One witness, 
whose position ought to insure the accuracy of his statements, 



460 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



testifies that " California's supply of tin ore is larger than that of 
England, and the quality is better." He adds, " We are the larg- 
est tin-consumers in the world, and our manufacture of tin plate 
is practically nothing. The establishment of this industry would 
afford employment to 40.000 additional working-men, involving 
the payment of at least $4,000,000 a year in wages." If tin ore 
does exist with us in considerable quantities, it forms an item in 
our national wealth upon which we have never counted. 

Aluminum is a metal of which no man ever heard sixty 
years ago ; yet it is more widely diffused through the crust of the 
earth than any other mineral, forming the substance of our clays, 
slates, and feldspathic rocks. It is never found in nature alone, 
but exists in combination with not less than two hundred other 
substances. Its oxide {alumina) is found impure as emery ; when 
pure and crystallized it is called corundum, the hardest known 
substance, except the diamond ; when colored with chromium and 
other substances, this corundum becomes sapphire, ruby, topaz, 
amethyst, etc. Alumina consists of about fifty-three parts of 
aluminum and forty-seven of oxygen. Our common clays con- 
tain alumina, sulphur, and potash or ammonia. Aluminum 
was first obtained as a metal in 1828. It is very ductile, almost 
as malleable as gold or silver, an excellent conductor of electric- 
ity, and not readily acted upon by any of the ordinary acids ; it is 
of a bluish-white color, and less than one fourth as heavy as lead. 
When first produced it cost its weight in gold ; it costs now 
about half its weight in silver. Its chief present use is for the pro- 
duction of alloys. A fusion of ten parts of aluminum and ninety of 
copper forms a kind of bronze finer than any brass, and especially 
adapted for gun-metal, the bearings of machinery, and all orna- 
mental metal-work. An alloy of one part of silver and two parts 
of aluminum is equal to standard silver in all respects, and bet- 
ter in some, for spoons, forks, and all kinds of table service. The 
comparatively great cost of aluminum prevents its use for many 
purposes for which it is especially adapted ; but eminent metal- 
lurgists are fully convinced that cheaper methods will be found 
for the production of the metal from its compounds. Some of 
them look for this result to electro-magnetism. The sources 



HOME DECORATION. 
See Note 33. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 463 



from which aluminum may be derived are so abundant, and the 
uses to which it can be applied are so numerous, that they are 
sanguine enough to believe that it will become the most impor- 
tant of all metals — superseding iron for very many purposes. 

Magnesium, the metal of which magnesia is the oxide, is an 
element widely diffused in nature. Among the more common 
magnesian rocks is serpentine, which usually contains about 
twenty-six per cent, by weight, or thirty-five per cent, in bulk, of 
magnesium, and sometimes still more. It is also abundant in 
the water of the ocean. A tank of sea-water fifty feet square 
and one foot deep contains at least two thousand pounds of 
metallic magnesium. This metal is silvery white in color, very 
brilliant, ductile, and malleable, melting at a red heat, is easily 
cast into ingots, and does not rapidly rust in damp air. It is the 
lightest of known metals, the specific gravity being less than 
twice that of water, or one tenth that of gold. The existence of 
magnesium as a metal was first discovered about 1830, and the 
amount produced is still very inconsiderable — not more than a 
few tons in all. When drawn into a fine wire it can be ignited, 
and burns with a very brilliant white light. A wire one one- 
hundredth of an inch in diameter burns at the rate of a yard in a 
minute, the weight being only two grains, affording a light equiv- 
alent to seventy-four stearine candles. Its principal use is for 
illuminating purposes, especially as an artificial light in photo- 
graphing. It has been suggested that " should magnesium be 
procurable at a much less cost than at present, it may serve as 
an excellent material for furnishing light where great intensity 
is required, especially in lighthouses." Professor Wurtz, one of 
the ablest American chemists, says : " Magnesium, being by far 
the lightest known substance of equal strength (except, possibly, 
calcium), and obtainable in unlimited quantities, is unquestion- 
ably — next to aluminum — the most important of the metals of 
the future." He adds : " It is not easy to comprehend our al- 
most absolute inaction in the way of bringing into common use 
this class of metals, which will hereafter be far more valuable 
than any other materials known to mankind." The high cost of 
these metals is the only obstacle in the way of their extensive 



464 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



use. Professor Wurtz suggests that " a modification of the mag- 
neto-electric engine will undoubtedly give us currents of electric- 
ity strong enough and cheap enough to make these metals by di- 
rect electrolysis." Among the uses to which one or both of these 
metals would be at once applied, if they could be produced 
cheaply enough, would be that of telegraphic wires, for which 
they are especially adapted by their strength, lightness, ductility, 
and high conducting power. Here is a field eminently inviting 
for chemical research and experiment. 

Reference has already been made to the opportunities af- 
forded by Chemistry for reaping the highest pecuniary rewards. 
A whole volume would not suffice to comprise even the names 
of the chemical discoveries which have within our own days 
not only benefited the public, but enriched their originators. 
Products of great value have been derived from substances be- 
fore considered worthless, and new products have been evolved 
from well-known articles : such as glucose from corn, celluloid 
from gun-cotton, vaseline from petroleum, stearine from lard, 
paraffine from coal, shale, peat, petroleum, fats, oils, etc. The 
greater part of our medicines, as administered, are the products 
of the chemist's laboratory ; and many of the perfumes and 
flavoring extracts which gratify the smell or the taste are arti- 
ficially procured from materials otherwise worthless. Electro- 
magnetism is a department of chemistry, and mighty as have 
been recent achievements here, the exploration of this field has 
hardly been begun. 

Perhaps no art has been more indebted to chemistry than 
that of dyeing. Very few, indeed, of the natural vegetable or 
animal dyes can be rendered permanent without the aid of the 
chemist. Most of the mineral dyes are the artificial products of 
chemistry : blues from iron ; yellows from lead ; greens from ar- 
senic, copper, and chromium, etc. Not a few of these dyes are 
highly poisonous, and therefore to be avoided. Within about a 
quarter of a century chemistry has produced a series of artificial 
colors which has almost revolutionized the art of dyeing. They 
are grouped together as " aniline colors " (the term being derived 
from anil, the Spanish name for indigo). Aniline was first pro- 



SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 465 

duced by the distillation of indigo, but is now obtained from ben- 
zole, one of the products of the distillation of coal-tar. The first 
aniline dye was a brilliant purple ; but they are now produced in 
all colors, under the various names of aniline, phenol, naphthaline, 
and anthracene colors, and their manufacture has grown into an 
important industry, the real originator of which was W. H. Per- 
kin, an English chemist, who produced the first mauve aniline 
dye in 1856. The art'of dyeing is of more industrial importance 
than is generally supposed. Besides its application to new fab- 
rics of all materials, immense quantities of goods, the colors of 
which have faded or become unfashionable (either before or after 
having been made up), are re-dyed and re-dressed so as to be 
really fresh fabrics. Were it not for this the prices of many 
goods — especially those worn by women — would be much higher 
than they are ; for when their colors came to be unseasonable or 
unfashionable the unsold goods would remain upon the hands 
of the manufacturer or dealer, who must take this risk into ac- 
count when fixing the price. The cost of unsold goods must be 
defrayed from the profits upon those which have been sold. 
Unsalable goods are as valueless as uncollectible debts. The 
business of dyeing is one which seems to be capable of much ex- 
tension. Not a-few garments are discarded before they are half 
worn out, because their colors have faded ; and double wear 
would be got out of them by having them re-dyed. 

Cotton stands so indisputably at the head of the plants 
which produce textile fibres, and so large are the portions of the 
United States especially adapted to its growth, that it is hardly 
to be expected that any notable additions will be made to our 
existing industries in this respect. Possibly improvements may 
be effected in machinery adapted to the working of flax, so that 
linen cloth shall again take a place among our manufactures. 
Some species of hemp which flourish in this country have a 
valuable fibre ; the possible use of one of these, the ramie plant, 
has already been noted. 

So large and increasing is the consumption of silk goods in 
this country, so admirably adapted are many portions of our ter- 
ritory to the propagation and feeding of the silk-worm, and so 



466 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



easy is the labor required, that it is difficult to understand why 
it is that we are yet almost wholly dependent upon other coun- 
tries for the raw material. 

The wool of the sheep will undoubtedly remain the chief of 
our animal fibres ; but there are other animals whose hair or 
wool possess special valuable qualities, and it is certainly worth 
ascertaining how far such animals as the Angora goat and the 
alpaca can be profitably naturalized in one section or another of 
the Union. Fur-bearing animals will become practically extinct 
before many years are past if their destruction continues to go 
on so rapidly. We see no reason why legislation might not 
provide more fully than it does against the wanton destruction 
of these animals, at least of the various marine kinds which 
bring forth their young upon the land. Their great breeding- 
places should be stringently protected, and the capture of the 
seal, during the breeding- season especially, should be pro- 
hibited. 

Paper is an important factor in modern civilization. One 
may measurably estimate the civilization of a people by the 
comparative quantity of paper which it consumes. The United 
States ranks by far the first in this respect, Great Britain coming 
next. The consumption of paper in the United States has in- 
creased in a ratio far greater than the increase of population. 
The value of the paper manufactured in 1870 was (in gold) about 
$39,000,000; in 1880 it was $55,000,000, an increase of forty-one 
per cent.; but the cost per ream in 1870 was about one fourth 
greater than in 1880, so that the increase in quantity consumed 
was more than fifty per cent. Rags, which formerly constituted 
the chief material for paper-making, are now quite insufficient 
for that purpose, and attention has been turned in almost every 
direction to find new materials. The waste paper which has 
been written or printed upon is bleached and ground up for 
stock. All kinds of vegetable fibre have been more or less 
utilized for this purpose. Paper has been made from the fibres 
of the aloe, artichoke, asparagus, banana, basswood, bean -vine, 
bulrush, cane, cat-tail, clover, corn-husks, grasses of various kinds, 
hop-vines, osiers, reeds, rushes, sorghum, thistles, tobacco, wild 



SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 467 



rice, and many others. Among the materials of this class, apart 
from cotton, flax, and hemp, that which has been most success- 
fully employed is the esparto grass, from which a very strong 
paper is made. 

A kind of cane (arundinaria macrosperma) which grows 
abundantly in some of the Southern States furnishes an inex- 
haustible supply of material for paper adapted for many pur- 
poses. The mode of preparing this fibre is peculiar. The cane, 
after having been stripped and cleaned, is placed in large closed 
iron cylinders, called " guns," into which steam is introduced un- 
der a pressure of one hundred and eighty pounds to the square 
inch, for a quarter of an hour. The pulling of a trigger removes 
the cap from the muzzle of the gun, and the disintegrated cane 
is blown out in a mass of brown fibre, resembling oakum. The 
guns are twenty-two feet long, with a bore of twelve inches. One 
such gun will prepare from four to six tons of fibre in twenty-four 
hours. 

The straw of all kinds of grain is very largely used in the 
manufacture of wrapping-paper and the lower grades of news- 
paper stock. Wood pulp is the most important recent addition 
to the materials for paper-making, and its use, especially in the 
cheaper kinds of printing-paper, is rapidly increasing. The proc- 
esses by which the wood is converted into pulp are described 
elsewhere in this volume. Paper of very good quality has been 
made from peat. An admixture of from five to fifteen per cent, 
of clay is advantageous in most kinds of paper, giving a smoother 
surface, and rendering the sheets more opaque. Much larger 
quantities are often used in order to increase the weight, but 
the paper is made weaker and more brittle. It is advantageously 
used in large proportions in the pasteboard for boxes ; and as it 
diminishes the combustibility of the article, it may be used to 
good purpose when paper comes to be employed for building 
purposes and for furniture. 

Papier-mache ("pulp-paper") has long been used in China and 
Japan for many purposes for which we employ wood; and as 
lumber becomes more and more costly with us, the use of paper 
will be much extended, Its comparative lightness and tough- 



468 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



ness adapt it especially for the panels of doors, for light parti- 
tions, for the sides of railway cars, and the like uses. Mr. Clay,' 
who introduced the use of papier-mache into England, acquired 
thereby an immense fortune ; and there can be no doubt that 
fortunes are yet to be made in this direction. There is certainly 
room for the exercise of inventive genius. 

Numerous and abundant as are the food products of the 
United States, we are still very far from having availed ourselves 
of all which may be produced among us. This is fully illus- 
trated by the introduction of the sorghum plant. The Western 
Continent, when first settled by the whites, was singularly defi- 
cient in this respect. Corn and the potato are the only important 
food plants indigenous to America, and these, with tobacco and 
the cacao (chocolate) plant, make up the list of vegetable products 
for which the old world is debtor to the new. We have borrowed 
much more largely. All the other grains and all fruits (except 
the grape) which we grow have been naturalized among us ; and 
not a few of them have here found soil and climate more favor- 
able than those of their original homes. The matter has been 
already considered at some length in respect to fruits. Our 
National Department of Agriculture has done, and is doing, 
much to indicate the lines in which experiments may be prose- 
cuted. One successful effort in acclimatization will more than 
repay the cost of a hundred failures. 

There are several plants which would seem to promise much. 
The mate, or Paraguay tea-plant, is used in a considerable part 
of South America as extensively as tea and coffee are in other 
parts of the globe. The tree itself is a species of holly, closely 
allied to that which produces the yanpon, or " black drink," of our 
Southern aborigines, and it is not improbable that it might be 
introduced among us. Or, if not grown here, it might be advan- 
tageous to import it, as we now import tea and coffee, to which 
the properties of mate bear a strong likeness. The coca is a 
Peruvian plant, to whose leaves the most remarkable stimulant 
and narcotic properties are ascribed. We are told, upon what 
appears to be reliable authority, that " under its influence the 
Indians of Peru will work twenty or thirty successive hours 



SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 469 



without sleep ; that they will travel more than two hundred 
miles in three days, consuming little food, but continually chew- 
ing coca leaves, which they carry in a little bag slung over their 
shoulders." The leaves themselves cost, on the spot, from fifty 
to seventy-five cents per pound, but it is said that two or three 
of them steeped will produce coca-tea enough for half a dozen 
people. 

In the matter of many food products, the thing which more 
than most others calls for invention is better modes of preparing 
them for market. In the canning or drying of fruits, so as to 
preserve their flavor and enable us to have an abundant supply 
all the year round, there is a wide scope for invention. So, also, 
in the modes of desiccating vegetables, by which they may be 
preserved in a small compass without losing their flavor or vir- 
tues. Fish — especially salt-water fish — will doubtless come to 
fill a much larger place in our dietaries than it now does, both 
as a matter of health and of economy. To enable us to reap 
the full benefit of the boundless capabilities of the ocean as a 
source for the supply of animal food, we need better and more 
economical modes of "putting up" fish, lobsters, oysters, etc., so 
that they can be attainable at all seasons in the most inland 
points of our continent. The foregoing are only hints and sug- 
gestions as to a few of the objects to be aimed at by persons of 
inventive capacity. 

The production, conservation, and distribution of heat pre- 
sents a wide field for research and invention. In our present 
methods of warming buildings by grates, stoves, and furnaces, 
more than one half of the heat is wasted ; and, in spite of all 
improvements in the steam-engine, a large percentage of the heat 
generated is not utilized. The combustion of wood and coal is 
the chief means heretofore employed for the artificial production 
of heat. Petroleum, weight for weight, contains much more 
heating power than coal, and is now used for many purposes to 
advantage ; it may be safely assumed that means can be devised 
to obviate the defects which still exist, so that this liquid fuel 
will come more and more into use. Heating by gas has been 
proposed for adoption on a large scale. It has been suggested 



470 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



that the coal-dust, which absolutely forms mountains of waste 
fuel in the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania, might be convert- 
ed upon the spot into gas, which should be conveyed in pipes to 
the large towns. There is no mechanical impossibility involved; 
and as this coal-dust amounts to not less than one fifth of the 
entire product of the mines, a vast saving of fuel now wasted 
might be effected. 

Even upon a winter's day there is a very large amount of 
heat in the direct rays of the sun, and various means have been 
suggested by which this may be used for warming purposes. A 
very simple device is that of Mr. Morse, of Salem, Massachusetts. 
It consists of a surface of slate, three feet by eight, painted black, 
with flues leading into the room to be warmed, and placed against 
the wall outside of the building, so that the rays of the sun fall 
upon it as directly as possible. The apartment, which was twen- 
ty by fourteen feet, and ten feet high, was made comfortable 
during the entire winter, except on the coldest days. The in- 
ventor says that, " in general, a difference of thirty to thirty-five 
degrees can thus be secured during four or five working hours 
of the day." 

Experiments and investigations upon a large scale have been 
entered upon for utilizing the rays of the sun as a motive power 
for machinery. At the French Exposition of 1878 M. Mouchet 
exhibited his solar engine. It consisted of a solar mirror, having: 
a surface of about twenty square yards, and connected with a re- 
ceiver. At the focus of the mirror was placed an iron boiler hav- 
ing a capacity of twenty-five gallons, in which was about sixteen 
gallons of water, the remainder of the space being left for steam. 
In half an hour the water was raised to the boiling point, with a 
steam pressure of five atmospheres, but under a clear sky the 
steam pressure was subsequently raised to seven atmospheres. 
A pumping-engine was attached to the boiler, and worked under 
a pressure of three atmospheres, raising from three hundred and 
fifty to four hundred and fifty gallons of water per hour to the 
height of six and a half feet. These experiments were made 
towards the close of September. Of course, the heat produced 
would have been greater on a day in summer. The adaptation 



SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 471 



of the mirror to cooking and domestic purposes was also shown. 
The veteran inventor, Mr. Ericsson, has for several years de- 
voted much of his thought to the invention and perfection of a 
solar engine, from which the highest results are anticipated. 

The various motive powers available for human use have 
called into exercise some of the highest inventive powers. Thou- 
sands upon thousands of inventions have been made in connec- 
tion with the steam-engine and its appliances. Ericsson's caloric 
engine, although not successful where large power is required, is 
invaluable in cases where small engines are wanted. The capa- 
bility of electro-galvanism as a motive power was first suggested 
some fifty years ago by Thomas Davenport, an obscure New 
England blacksmith, and was slowly developed by others, so 
that it has been profitably employed for working engines of low 
power. Within a few months it has been demonstrated that 
this power can be economically applied to engines sufficient to 
draw trains upon our street railways, for which purpose, at least, 
it is anticipated that it will supersede steam. 

The use of compressed air as a motive power has received 
far less attention than it should have done. This can certain- 
ly be applied in many cases where steam would be inconven- 
ient, or even impossible. Without it the Mt. Cenis tunnel could 
never have been excavated. The problem was to drill a hole 
some twenty -five feet in diameter through nearly eight miles 
of solid rock, rising for a perpendicular mile or more above the 
level of the tunnel, so that no shafts could be sunk even for ven- 
tilation. To drill by hand would have been practically impos- 
sible. All the men who could have found space to work upon 
the head of the drift could not have drilled and blasted through 
in half a century, even if they could have worked at all in such 
a hole. Drilling by steam-power was out of the question, for 
the steam-engine must have fire, and fire demands air, and no 
air could enter or leave except by the mouth of the tunnel. But, 
fortunately, there w r as a mountain torrent half a mile from the 
proposed mouth, furnishing abundant w T ater-power. This was 
used, by appropriate machinery, for compressing the air, which 
was conveyed in pipes into the tunnel so as to work the drilling- 



472 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



engines within. This liberated air could only find an exit 
through the mouth of the tunnel, carrying out with it the smoke 
produced by the blasting. One drilling-engine, as large as a 
railway locomotive, worked nine drills, each giving two hundred 
strokes a minute, or eighteen hundred in all, each much heavier 
than a miner could deliver with a sledge-hammer. Not more than 
five pairs of miners could have worked at a time, each hammer- 
man giving twenty strokes a minute, or one hundred in all. This 
machine, therefore, did the work of fully twenty men, and could, 
moreover, be managed by relays during the whole twenty-four 
hours, while a gang of miners could not work more than eight 
hours. 

Compressed air may be used to advantage wherever there is a 
superabundance of water-power, inconveniently located for manu- 
facturing purposes ; say, high up a mountain side, or in a deep 
gulch or ravine. A condensing-engine worked by a water-wheel 
might be placed here, and the compressed air be conducted in 
pipes for any required distance. There would be no mechanical 
impossibility in using the water-power of Niagara Falls to work 
engines in Buffalo, or even in New York. There is, indeed, a loss 
of absolute power, but this would be of no consequence in the 
case supposed, where there is unlimited water-power running to 
waste. It is estimated that the water-power of Niagara is as great 
as would be the steam-power produced by 266,000,000 tons of coal 
per year — a quantity equal to the entire consumption of the world. 

Steam-power might, in many cases, be profitably used for com- 
pressing air. A large steam-engine can be worked at much less 
cost than a number of small ones having the same aggregate 
power. Such a compressing-engine might be located on the 
outskirts of any large city, or "at any convenient point within it, 
and the compressed air — the equivalent of the steam — be con- 
veyed in pipes, just as gas and water are, wherever wanted. Thus 
would not only the danger from fire and explosions be obviated, 
but much of the noise and jar of the steam machinery would be 
avoided. The compressed-air engine works almost noiselessly ; 
and, moreover, the room in which such an engine works would 
of necessity be thoroughly ventilated. Unless this method shall 




A SUNDAY MORNING IN SURREY. 
See Note 34. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND INVENTION. 475 



be anticipated by the electro-magnetic motor just mentioned, it 
would seem that our street railways must in time be operated by 
compressed air. The means for effecting this present no serious 
mechanical difficulties, and the man who shall devise a practi- 
cable compressed-air motor cannot fail to find a fortune in it. At 
present, we believe that this power, so easily developed and so 
entirely under control, is used for little else than for sending 
pneumatic despatches for short distances — a use which might be 
largely extended. 

The force of the wind as a motor is quite too much over- 
looked in this country. It costs money to run a steam-engine, 
while water-power and wind-power cost little or nothing. Few 
men can have water-power upon their grounds, while the wind 
blows everywhere, if not always. The disadvantage inseparable 
from the windmill is its uncertainty. One cannot know posi- 
tively when or how fast it will run. But in spite of this there 
are few regions where it may not be useful, and there are many 
in which it would seem to be almost indispensable. Such are 
all our great prairie lands, and those others where there is no 
available water-power. If there be a lake, pond, or still-water 
river near by, the windmill, when it will go, and if there is 
nothing else for it to do, may be kept busy in pumping up 
water into a reservoir, to be used for irrigation and other pur- 
poses. For pumping water from deep wells it is invaluable. 
Indeed, in many cases the reservoir might be large enough and 
high enough to furnish a considerable water-power, which would 
be available at all times. One cannot make the windmill work 
when there is no wind ; but when it works at all it can be made 
to store up force in several ways. There are few large farms 
where one would not be worth much more than its cost. 

A man somewhere on our great plains has worked out this 
general idea in another shape. Water is scarce with him, while 
sand is plentiful. His windmill carries an endless belt, provided 
with buckets, like a grain elevator. These dip into a large box 
of sharp, dry sand, and raise it into a reservoir at the top of the 
building, whence, by opening a sluice, it falls upon a large wheel 
like an overshot water-wheel, which it turns just as water would 

26 



476 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



do. The sand is discharged from the wheel into the box from 
which it had been taken, and is thus used over and over again 
without limit. As many windmills can be put up as are required 
to lift the necessary quantity of sand. This sand-reservoir is, in 
effect, a dam for storing up the power, to be used when wanted. 
Here is a suggestion which may be carried out by any one, and 
almost everywhere. We do not learn that the inventor has 
patented his sand-mill ; if he has not, he has missed a sure 
fortune. 



BUILDING MATERIALS. 



477 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

BUILDING MATERIALS. 

IN a preceding chapter it has been shown that great changes 
will be wrought in the character of our domestic architec- 
ture. The dwellings of the future will be very different from 
most of those of the past and many of those of the present. As 
we build more and more for health and comfort we shall build 
more and more durably. This involves a marked change in our 
building materials. Such a change would have been inevitable 
in any case ; for, even with the wisest measures for the conser- 
vation of our forests, wood will become an article too costly to 
be generally used for exterior building purposes, and some- 
thing else must be largely substituted for it. We shall still 
look to the surface of the earth for most of our food and for 
the materials for our clothing; but we must mainly construct 
our houses, as well as warm them and light them, from substan- 
ces which nature has from the beginning been fashioning and 
storing up for us within the bosom of the earth. Coal and pe- 
troleum, stone and clay, iron and copper, are at hand to serve 
many of the uses for which wood has been heretofore used. 
Our mines will supply future generations that which our forests 
can no longer provide, more especially what is required for build- 
ing purposes. 

Stone will doubtless be used for most public buildings, and 
very largely for others, in those localities where good building- 
stone is readily and cheaply accessible. The present impor- 
tance of our quarrying interests has been shown in a previous 
chapter. This importance must be greatly enhanced in the 
future. Any man who has a quarry of good building -stone, 



478 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



easily accessible, is richer than if he owned a gold-mine ; and 
there are many such quarries quite unworked and even unsus- 
pected ; the valuable rock being more or less covered up by 
worthless deposits. Prospecting for a stone-quarry gives better 
promise than prospecting for gold or silver. 

But there are immense regions in which houses must be 
built, where wood is already scarce, and where good building- 
stone is not found. Here other materials must be supplied. 
What they shall be depends upon circumstances. There are 
several kinds of " concretes " or artificial stone, many of which 
possess considerable value for building purposes if properly man- 
ufactured, and if employed within certain limitations. Beton- 
Coignet, of which the constituents are sand, hydraulic lime, and 
Portland cement, is used for the fluted columns of the inte- 
rior of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, and quite largely for 
ornamental facings to brick buildings. Ransomes Concrete 
Stone is made by filling the interstices of sand, gravel, etc., 
with an insoluble cementing substance, most commonly sili- 
cate of soda (" soluble glass ") and chloride of calcium ; double 
decomposition takes place, resulting in the formation of chloride 
of sodium (common salt) and silicate of lime, which is the 
binding material. The Sore I Artificial Stone is made by mix- 
ing chloride of magnesium and oxide of magnesium, the result 
being oxychloride of magnesium, a very strong cement. The 
so-called emery-wheels, used as grindstones, etc., consist of this 
compound of magnesium. To form the building-stone, twenty 
parts of this cement are mixed with one hundred and twenty 
parts of sand and pounded marble, and the whole moulded 
into blocks. A cubic foot of this stone costs about sixty cents ; 
but for many purposes large pebbles, or even cobble-stones, 
may be placed in the mould, forming the greater part of the 
block, and thus the cost may be reduced to ten or twelve cents 
per cubic foot. The Frear Artificial Stone consists of a mixture 
of silicious sand and hydraulic cement, with an addition of gum- 
shellac ; but good authorities question the advisability of the last 
ingredient. " It yields," they say, "to the solvent power of the 
alkalies, and should be employed with great caution in localities 



BUILDING MATERIALS. 



479 



exposed to such influences." Portland Stone is a mixture of 
Portland cement with sand and gravel, formed into blocks ; its 
value depends upon the quality of the cement used. This is 
equally true of all kinds of artificial stone. General Gillmore, 
the highest authority upon this subject, says : "I am not aware 
that any good silicious or argillaceous hydraulic lime has ever 
been manufactured in the United States ; and I know of no 
calcareous deposit capable of producing such a lime." It is 
certainly worth making diligent search to ascertain whether 
such deposits exist among us. If they shall be found, their 
future value must be immense. There is, beyond doubt, room 
for great improvements in the processes of the manufacture of 
artificial stone, and here is a wide field for research and experi- 
ment. There have been several attempts at building in con- 
crete, that is, making the artificial stone into solid walls instead 
of blocks, to be laid up as masonry. Not improbably this may 
be successfully done, at least, for interior walls and partitions. 
Artificial stone in blocks is largely used for floors and pave- 
ments ; and the concrete pavements are nothing but artificial 
stone made in masses and upon the spot, instead of being 
moulded into blocks and afterwards laid down. One great ad- 
vantage of this concrete stone is that, like brick and terra-cotta, 
it can be moulded into blocks of any desired shape and dimen- 
sions, requiring no subsequent cutting or dressing to fit them to 
their places. 

There is much room for the selection of the natural stones 
for building purposes. This depends upon the cheapness with 
which they can be furnished at the place where they are to be 
used ; upon their durability, strength, and beauty. Some kinds 
of stone rapidly disintegrate when exposed to the action of the 
elements. Thus, the stone of which the British Parliament 
Houses are constructed began to decay perceptibly almost as 
soon as it was laid. It is usual, when any new quarry of stone 
is opened, to endeavor to ascertain the durability of the stone 
by chemical analysis, by boiling it in saline solutions, and by 
subjecting it to great alternations of temperature, freezing mixt- 
ures and heat constituting the means. But all such tests 



480 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



are of little value compared with a careful examination of the 
rock itself, as .exposed in its natural outcrop. Such an exam- 
ination will show that some rocks soften and disintegrate by- 
weathering, while in others the angles and faces have re- 
mained sharp and hard through countless ages of exposure. 
Some rocks, indeed, are quite soft when first quarried, but con- 
tinually grow harder by exposure. Such stone has a special 
value from this circumstance, since it can be w r orked with com- 
parative ease when newly quarried. There are kinds of stone 
which are durable in an equable climate, and yet yield to a varia- 
ble one. The obelisk recently erected in the New York Central 
Park was hardly injured by an exposure of twenty centuries to 
the almost changeless climate of Egypt, while it has been sensi- 
bly defaced by the frost and snow of two or three of our winters. 
The white marble, so beautiful for ages in Greece or Italy, be- 
comes discolored in a few years in New York or New England. 
Many other conditions enter largely into the selection of a build- 
ing-stone. One of the most important is the comparative ease 
with which it can be wrought. Thus trap-rock, although one of 
the strongest and most durable of all stones, is little used in 
building, because of the great difficulty with which it is quarried ; 
and being very hard, and generally without cleavage, it is espe- 
cially untractable under the chisel or hammer. 

But while stone, natural and artificial, will enter more largely 
than it now does into our architecture, especially for large struct- 
ures, we must look upon brick as our chief future building 
material in most localities. Brick, indeed, may be properly con- 
sidered as a kind of artificial stone, in which some of the proc- 
esses of nature have been imitated by submitting clay, moulded 
into convenient forms and sizes, to the action of intense heat, 
which renders the soft material as hard and durable as stone, 
and even less liable to injury from fire than almost any kind of 
stone. In some nearly rainless districts, " adobes," or bricks 
dried in the sun, answer a tolerable purpose. But bricks 
burned, or, rather, baked, form the material which we have in 
view. 

All clays are not equally suitable for brick-making; many 



BUILDING MATERIALS. 



481 



kinds are absolutely useless, and most of even the best kinds re- 
quire some admixture of foreign substances. The essential in- 
gredients of good brick-clay are silica and alumina. But bricks 
made from " fat clays " warp and shrink in burning, and require 
an addition of a greater or less proportion of sand, ashes, or cin- 
ders. If the clay, on the other hand, has too great a proportion 
of sand, the bricks will be brittle, and so an addition of other and 
" fatter " clay is required. If too much iron, with an excess of 
silica or lime, is present, the bricks will melt, instead of properly 
baking. If there be carbonate of lime, whether in the form of 
chalk, marl, or calcareous petrifactions, it is converted into quick- 
lime in the process of burning, and only such portions as come 
in contact with the silica and alumina combine with these sub- 
stances ; the excess remains as quicklime, which will slack when 
the bricks are exposed to moisture, and so destroy them. Hence 
such clays as contain too great a percentage of carbonate of 
lime are altogether unfit for brick-making. Nor is the best clay 
in a fit condition for use when newly dug from the pit. It 
needs to be exposed to the weather until it becomes thoroughly 
disintegrated. Frost is the best agency for this purpose, and 
the longer the exposure, the more effectually is the clay reduced. 
There are few industries which call for more knowledge and 
sound judgment than that of selecting and tempering the clay 
for brick-making. 

Moulding the clay into brick was formerly done by hand, 
but machinery is now largely employed; still, much manual 
labor is required in handling the brick in the various stages 
of manufacture. The standard at the great brick-yards at Hav- 
erstraw, on the Hudson, where the best machinery is used, and 
where the facilities for shipping are excellent, is one thousand 
bricks a day for each person employed, from the time when 
the clay is dug to when the bricks are placed on board the 
vessel. 

The burning of the bricks is perhaps the direction in which 
improvement is most to be looked for. It is said that in the 
neighborhood of London bricks take about three months in the 
burning; at Haverstraw the time, a few years since, was about 



482 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



two weeks, requiring from thirty to forty cords of wood for one 
hundred thousand bricks. The time now required is three or 
four days, and the fuel is reduced to sixteen cords of wood, and 
a little coal-dust, mixed in the clay, costing about as much as half 
a cord of wood. With us, bricks are usually burned in kilns ; in 
Europe permanent furnaces are also employed. It would seem 
that the principles of heating developed in Siemens' Regenerat- 
ing Gas Furnace, so largely used in the smelting of iron and in 
the production of Bessemer steel, might be applied to the burn- 
ing of brick, for the fuel forms a very considerable item in the 
cost of the product. There is a slight variation in the size of 
the brick made in different sections: 8x4x2^ inches being 
about the average. We see no reason why the length and 
breadth should not be doubled, even though it may not be ad- 
visable to make any great increase in the thickness, on account 
of difficulty of thorough baking. Brick can be moulded in vari- 
ous forms, just as stone is cut, and much more easily. Terra- 
cotta (" baked clay ") and tiles, whether plain or ornamented, 
glazed or unglazed, are only modifications of bricks. Both these 
are capable of innumerable applications in both interior and ex- 
terior architecture. 

The substitution of brick and stone for wood in our dwell- 
ings will be accompanied by the use of iron for many purposes. 
W 7 e shall have iron beams and girders, possibly iron rafters. 
Building in more difficult materials, we shall build better, and 
more enduringly. Ornamentation will come to be more thought 
of, and decoration, not merely as applied to architecture, but as 
an integral part of a building, will be demanded far more gener- 
ally than it has ever been. 

The Sand-Blast is a new device for producing ornamental 
work upon any hard material, to the practical applications of 
which no limit can be assigned. It furnishes an interesting 
chapter in the history of American inventions. If one will turn 
to the Patent Office Reports for 1870 he will find, under date of 
October 18, the record of the issue to Benjamin C. Tilghman, of 
Philadelphia, of Patent No. 108,408, " For the cutting, boring, 
grinding, dressing, engraving, and pulverizing of stone, metal, 



BUILDING MATERIALS. 



483 



glass, pottery, wood, and other hard or solid substances, by means 
of sand used as a projectile, when the requisite velocity has been 
given to it artificially by any suitable means." 

A stream of sand falling with considerable velocity upon any 
hard, brittle substance cuts it away rapidly; the harder and 
more brittle the substance, the greater is the wear; while soft, 
tough substances are hardly worn at all. Let one put his fin- 
ger in a moderate sand-blast, and the nail will be worn away 
in an instant, while the flesh is uninjured. Glass, stone, and 
brick are the substances which yield most readily to the sand- 
blast. Fasten a piece of the most delicate lace upon a plate of 
glass, and place it under the sand, and the parts of the glass not 
covered by the lace will be cut away to any depth, according to 
the duration of the exposure, while the parts covered by the 
threads, almost as fine as a spider's web, are untouched. Let a 
picture be drawn with liquid glue or any suitable material, upon 
glass, and every line will be reproduced. The parts worn down 
are roughened and semi-opaque, like ground glass, while the pro- 
tected parts retain their polish. The pattern, whatever it be, 
appears in polished lines upon a " ground " surface. Colored 
glass usually consists of a thin colored layer upon the surface of 
a plain sheet. Upon this colored side produce any pattern, by 
drawing it with some thick ink, or otherwise ; place it in the 
sand-blast, and this surface, where not protected, will be cut 
away, and the pattern will stand out in brilliant red (supposing 
that to be the color) upon a soft white ground. The initials, 
crests, monograms, and other devices now so common upon in- 
side windows and glass-ware of all kinds are produced by the 
sand-blast. Here, it hardly need be said, is opportunity for high 
artistic skill in designing. The sand-blast will take care for the 
execution ; for, like the camera of the photographer, it will exe- 
cute the most elaborate work as easily as the simplest. 

Work like this does not need more than a moderate velocity 
in the sand-stream. But there are other kinds of work which 
require a high rate. The apparatus is a kind of gun, loading 
itself automatically near the breech with fine sand, which is 
driven out through the muzzle by steam, under a pressure, some- 



484 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



times, of four hundred pounds to the square inch. The ma- 
chine is quite simple, but its use requires some skill. The 
sand-stream may be made to act as a plane, a drill, or a chisel. 
In quarrying, when a large block of stone is to be detached, the 
groove to separate it from the mass may be cut by the sand- 
blast more easily than by any other means. 

The main use to which the sand-blast has been applied is for 
dressing and ornamenting stone, after it has been quarried. 
Under a steam-pressure of fifty pounds it will cut away five cubic 
inches of marble, or three of granite, in a minute. For ornament- 
al work upon stone, the desired pattern is cut out in a sheet of 
india-rubber, say, one sixteenth of an inch thick. This is fixed to 
the face of the block, and the sand-stream turned upon it. The 
same pattern may be used over and over again upon different 
blocks. In one case a pattern had been used for fifty slabs of 
marble, each of which was cut down a quarter of an inch, or more 
than a foot in all, and yet the thin rubber pattern showed no 
signs of wear. 

Blocks of stone may be turned by the sand-blast as easily as 
wood is turned in a lathe. The block is placed in the lathe, 
where it is accurately centred. The sand-pipe is carried along 
parallel to the axis of the block, by a sliding-rest, as the chisel is 
in wood-turning, and in a very short time the rough block is 
turned into a true cylinder. By the use of " chucks," as in turn- 
ing irregular forms in wood, any similar form may be produced 
in stone with equal facility. It may require the labor of a fort- 
night to chisel a block of stone into the pilaster of a balcony. 
By the sand-blast, the same block may be turned into the same 
shape in half a day. The stone-work of the Philadelphia Acad- 
emy of Fine Arts was executed by the sand-blast, not the chisel. 
Brick yields to the sand-blast as easily as stone ; and if it is ever 
desirable to ornament a brick wall with carvings, the sand-blast 
furnishes a ready means. There is practically no end to the 
possible applications of this invention. It has already been 
made to round and dress mill-stones ; engrave glass, metals, and 
execute wood-carvings; drill holes in all tough materials; and 
smooth off the rough surface of castings. The sand-blast will 



BUILDING MATERIALS. 



485 



hereafter become a very potent factor in house-building, and es- 
pecially so when quarried or dressed stone is employed for ex- 
terior or interior purposes. 

The inevitable change in our building materials must work a 
considerable change in the distribution of labor among the dif- 
ferent, building trades. The proportion of masons and brick- 
layers must increase, that of carpenters must comparatively 
diminish. The tendency of machinery in house-building will 
be to dispense with unskilled labor rather than that which re- 
quires skill. The winch and pulley will do the work of the hod- 
carrier; mills may be made to mix and attemper the mortar; 
but we imagine that nothing short of direct human agency will 
spread the mortar to the varying thickness required, and lay the 
brick and stone plumb and true in their places. 



486 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



WORK FOR WOMEN. 



OMEN, as well as men, must live by labor performed 



V V either by themselves or by others ; and the number of 
women is very large who must support themselves, wholly or in 
part, and not a few have others dependent upon them. It is 
beyond question that it is more difficult for women than for 
men to find employment at all remunerative, and when their 
work is of the same general character, their wages, as a rule, are 
much lower. In either aspect of the case the evil is a grave 
one, and much earnest thought has been directed towards it. 
The first thing to be done is to ascertain the magnitude of the 
evil. 

In the Census Report for 1880 (as has been shown in Chapter 
III.) children below the age of ten (who constitute 18 per cent, 
of the population) are assumed to contribute nothing to their 
own support. Between the ages of ten and sixteen 1,118,356 
boys and girls are reported as engaged in some regular occupa- 
tion, but it may be presumed that few of these more than par- 
tially support themselves. This is so of those beyond the age 
of sixty, although 1,004,517 are assigned to regular occupations. 
What may be styled the productive season of life embraces the 
period lying between sixteen and sixty years. 

Leaving out of view those who are below sixteen and above 
sixty, there were in the United States 27,384,446 individuals of 
both sexes ; of these 13,907,444 were males, of whom 12,986,111 
— nearly 93 per cent. — were engaged in some specified remuner- 
ative occupation. The remaining 921,333 — a little more than 
7 per cent. — comprise pupils in schools, students in colleges, 




\ 




A LIBRARY EFFECT. 
See Note 35. 



WORK FOR WOMEX. 



489 



the vagrant pauper, and criminal classes, and all those who are 
permanently precluded from labor by mental or physical in- 
firmity. The females, between sixteen and sixty, numbered 
13,477,002, of whom only 2,283,115 — or 17 per cent. — are enu- 
merated as engaged in any paying occupation. 

This statement, taken by itself, would indicate that only one 
in six of the women of the United States, between the ages of 
sixteen and sixty, is occupied in any productive industry. This 
is by no means the case. A large proportion of them are the 
wives and daughters of farmers, or men engaged in other occu- 
pations, and are themselves workers, as really as their fathers, 
husbands, and brothers. But making all due allowance for 
these, the number is very large to whom directly remunerative 
employment is a necessity. In what directions must this em- 
ployment be sought for? and how far and by what means can 
the comparatively small remuneration be increased ? 

In theory there is hardly an avocation, except, perhaps, those 
of law and divinity, in which a woman may not freely engage if 
she has the requisite physical strength ; indeed there is no abso- 
lute impossibility of her practising either of these professions. In 
fact, there are very few avocations in which more or less women 
are not to be found. But the universal feeling of both sexes 
excludes woman to a very great extent from nearly all out-door 
occupations, although in most European countries she has her 
full share in the labors of the field. This cannot very well be 
otherwise, so long as huge standing armies withdraw the men 
in the flower of their strength from productive labor. Soldiers 
in camp, even in times of peace, cannot till the fields. Women 
must plough and dig, haul and reap, or all must starve. Few 
men or women of American birth or training wish things to be 
essentially changed in this respect, or that women as well as 
men should be miners, lumbermen, or out-door laborers. We 
now and then read of a family of women who cultivate a large 
farm, performing with their own hands the severest of the out- 
door labor. Some years ago a long, specific statement to this 
effect went the rounds of the newspapers and magazines. Of 
this we give the essential points : 



490 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



" I am in the family of Malvina and Paulina Roberts, farmers, with 350 
acres of good land. They have been on this farm two years. There are eight 
children : seven daughters and a son of nine years. This season four of the 
daughters, from eleven to nineteen years, assisted by their mother and a niece of 
seventeen, have ploughed 75 acres, dragged 100 acres three times, sowed broad- 
cast and rolled 100 acres." More ploughing has been done, but this was exclu- 
sively the work of the mother and the five young women. The other day I saw 
two of the girls, aged fifteen and seventeen, sowing wheat broadcast ; the oldest 
girl was rolling, another was dragging, and another piling and burning brush 
with her father. To-day the thirteen-year-old daughter was ploughing — holding 
the plough and driving her own team ; her day's work was the usual one — an 
acre and a half. These daughters have the care of their own teams. One 
daughter, aged seventeen, is this season detailed as house-keeper, but she is as 
good at ploughing, sowing, dragging, and rolling as the rest of them. The 
house-work is by them considered the hardest and most difficult of all ; they all 
prefer the out-door farm-work. They have now growing 45 acres of wheat, 50 
of oats, 30 of flax ; and are to put in 10 acres of corn, 10 of beans, 8 of carrots, 
10 of potatoes, and three-fourths of an acre of onions. During the two years 
more than 50 acres have been cleared of bushes, stumps, and roots, mainly by 
the mother and daughters." 

Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge, commenting upon the foregoing, 
and, some other like instances, says: " I allude to these facts for 
the purpose of resisting the one grand clincher generally used to 
strangle each new-born proposition relative to women-farmers — 
that they lack the requisite physique. ' Fancy a woman digging, 
ploughing, carting, pitching hay, and the like !' Yet, much as we 
may deprecate the practice, this is just what thousands of wom- 
en have done and are doing the world over. Many a woman's 
arm, since the world began, has turned over the heavy soil and 
prepared it for the seed. And as for pitching hay, one of the 
prettiest girls I ever knew could never leave home at haying- 
time, because, as her father said, ' We can't spare her then no- 
how, for she's worth a brace of boys for raking and pitching.' " 
Mrs. Dodge sums up the matter in this judicious manner: 

"Woman can do farm-work, for she has done it, and is still doing it, in nearly 
every part of the world. Granted that she does it at a heavy cost, for extreme 
physical labor is a destroyer of beauty and the finer powers of thought with 
either sex. Still we must remember that in most cases the alternative would 
not be repose, but either pinching want or uncongenial work of some kind ; 
and there are few kinds of work which are a pastime. Woman, however, is 



WORK FOR WOMEN. 



491 



especially adapted to the lighter branches of agriculture; and while her big 
brother has stronger muscles and a hardier frame than she, it is undesirable 
that she should devote herself to the heavy manual labor of the farm. Besides, 
American women (simply through generations of inactive modes of life, and 
not because God has made them so) are not so well fitted for severe work as 
most others are, though there are many who can do it if they must, or if they 
wish to, as in the case of these Roberts sisters. 

" Why, then, bring in this clincher as the invariable answer to every query 
concerning woman on the farm ? Does every male farmer spend his own 
strength in the hardest manual labor? Or does he employ stout men to pick 
his small fruits ? Cannot women do all such work as well or better than men ? 
Can they not, in short, take part in more than one-half of the labor of the farm 
— in drilling, planting, weeding, trimming, grafting, gathering, tying up bushes, 
training vines, and a hundred other such things ? And are not these labors 
less exhausting and more healthful than the washing and ironing, the scrubbing 
and cooking, the sewing and factory-work, which so many women accept, and 
think themselves compelled to accept, as their appointed work in life ?" 

Horticulture and Floriculture. — In any case the garden, 
the orchard, and the poultry-yard present numerous means of 
occupation which no one will look upon as unfitted for a woman 
who wishes to make money for immediate support, or as a desir- 
able addition to otherwise inadequate means. There are, indeed, 
not many women in city or country to whom a few more dollars 
would not be very convenient. Upon the subject of profits in 
gardening and fruit-raising something has already been said in 
another chapter. From a very suggestive little work * we con- 
dense a few passages bearing upon this point : 

" Women resident in the country have in many instances great advantages 
over those in a city, in the way of opportunities for money-making. Among 
these are the raising of flowers, vegetables, medicinal plants, etc., and the care 
of bees, poultry, and other live-stock. Many a careworn woman, struggling 
with her house-work, and finding it next to impossible to make both ends meet, 
has only to look into her garden-patch and see there the foundation of a differ- 
ent order of things. 

"There were two sisters who found themselves sorely put to it for the 
means of living, in spite of owning a comfortable house and garden. A friend 
pointed out to them the garden as a source of revenue, and somewhat incredu- 
lously they adopted her suggestions. They hired a boy to keep the garden in 



" Money-making for Ladies." By Ella Rodman Church. 



492 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



order, to gather the vegetables daily and dispose of them in the neighboring 
village. It was late in the summer when the experiment was begun, and the 
crops had been planted without reference to anything but home consumption, 
but the returns were very encouraging even for that first season. In country 
villages the inhabitants really suffer from the want of fruit and vegetables, for 
which they depend on some chance huckster, or send for them to the nearest 
town. And yet how seldom is any one found who has the foresight to raise 
fruit and vegetables on purpose to supply these waiting purchasers. Even so 
small a patch as a half acre, if cultivated to its utmost capacity with the usual 
vegetables, would, with little addition of labor, not only supply the family table, 
but would afford a surplus for sale which would bring in a very respectable 
sum of money during the season." 

In the neighborhood of large towns, and especially of manu- 
facturing villages, there is nothing which is more certain of sale 
than ordinary garden vegetables. A family which is in posses- 
sion of an acre or two of land in such a location may turn it to 
good account beyond the supplying of its own wants. Most of 
the labor of cultivating a garden is not as hard as ordinary 
household work, and may be performed by women as well as by 
men ; but, in order to make this profitable, a woman requires a 
knowledge of market -gardening. She must know what kinds 
of products are wanted in her neighborhood, what kinds can be 
made to succeed on her plot, how to cultivate them to the best 
advantage, and also how to sell them. A very important item 
is to have a succession of crops, so that there shall be something 
to sell during the whole season. The gardener should not let 
his land lie idle, any more than the manufacturer should let his 
factory be closed. If a man is to succeed in any business he 
must understand it. It is precisely the same with a woman. 

A few definite results of practical experience in any direction 
are worth more than much theorizing, and we condense the ac- 
count which one who has made the experiment gives of her re- 
sults. It will be noted that in this case there is hardly any kind 
of work which women are not fully capable of doing; and the 
result will furnish suggestions and encouragement to those w T ho 
wish to learn how a little land may be cultivated for profit : 

" A part of what had been a carrot-patch was devoted to onions, and all 
around the edge of the onion-bed I sowed parsley-seed, and between the rows 



WORK FOR WOMEN. 



493 



of early peas were put in dwarf celery for a second crop after the first hoeing. 
A man worked the ground with the horses at the time of hoeing the carrot and 
other green crop, and made the headlands of potatoes, and we used early and 
late corn to prolong the season. It is astonishing how much may be produced 
upon a small piece of ground, if it is properly enriched, and planted wide with a 
view to a second crop. 

" Radishes among beets are soon out of the way, and so is lettuce among 
carrots. Turnips did well, even late, between the rows of onions, which were 
pulled up in August. The turnip-fly seems to dislike the smell of onions, and 
left ours unmolested. Half a dozen tomato-plants, put into a warm, dry corner, 
not too rich, supply for first use, and a few later plants give a second crop for 
preserving, and these may be put in after any of the early vegetables — spin- 
ach, beets, or radishes — are pulled. The first year I grew every kind of vege- 
table except asparagus ; since then a bed of this has been planted, and it is the 
most eagerly sought and highly prized of them all. Cabbage and cauliflower 
are grown in small quantities, the caterpillars giving much trouble, so that we 
had to apply air-slacked lime several times ; and then, if the plants were neg- 
lected a few days, we find the leaves all riddled. 

" I planted strong-rooted currants and gooseberries, in rows wide enough for 
the horses to cultivate. It is well to have these two near together, for the worms 
appear first on the gooseberries, and can be promptly disposed of by two dust- 
ings of hellebore, applied when there is dew on the bushes ; they will not then 
appear to any great extent on the currants. Two rows of strawberries along 
the fence supply sufficient for table use and preserves, while by keeping a few 
raspberries, cut back and trained to a trellis, we have large fruit. I keep the 
rubbish in the compost-heap all winter, and make it the place of deposit for 
soapsuds and the like. When it is removed in the spring to the garden, a rich 
spot is left for a few melon and cucumber seeds. If these are covered with a 
bottomless box, having a pane of glass for the cover, the melons will ripen a 
week earlier than in the open air." 

Such a judiciously managed garden-plot as this it is easy to 
see may be made a source of profit in any locality where there is 
a sale for its products ; that is to say, in the immediate vicinity 
of any large village or town ; and it involves nothing, except per- 
haps the ploughing and the manuring, which a woman might 
not perform. The same things are true of fruit -culture. In 
speaking of fruit-growing in California, we cited Mr. Nordhoff's 
remark that numerous German emigrants committed the care of 
their fruit-gardens wholly to their wives and children. There is 
no reason why this kind of productive industry should not be 
carried on all over the country, and by American women. In 

27 



494 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



this, also, woman's work receives the same pay as that of man. 
The products of the garden or orchard bring none the less be- 
cause they are raised and sold by a woman. All this implies 
that the working woman has the needed garden-plot at her 
command. Those who are not thus favored, and who must yet 
labor, must look out for other modes. 

Domestic Service. — Of the 2,647,157 females who are enu- 
merated in the Census Report of 1880 as having any gainful 
employment, 938,910 are classed as "domestic servants;" and of 
these about 250,000 were of foreign birth, and many others of 
foreign parentage. It is not necessary here to inquire into the 
reason of the evident fact that American women are averse to 
this kind of occupation. With us this domestic service ranks 
among the most unskilled of labor, but it undoubtedly pays 
better than the labor of men equally unskilled in their work. 
Those who engage in it have, as they suppose, no sufficient 
reason to learn their work properly. Very few of them expect 
to remain long as servants. They usually look forward to mar- 
riage, which will relieve them from the hard necessity of " living 
out." Domestic service with us is rarely entered upon except 
as a mere temporary occupation, to be given up as soon as any- 
thing better offers, although the number is large to whom noth- 
ing better ever does present itself. 

Work and Wages. — The Census Report enumerates 338 
different occupations practised in the United States. Women, 
in greater or less numbers, are engaged in 262 of these — the 
exceptions being usually those in which they may be pre- 
sumed to be physically incapable of engaging. There are no 
female blacksmiths, carpenters, engineers, lumberers, masons, 
machinists, plumbers, or wheelwrights ; no stock-drovers, sailors, 
or soldiers ; only 2 hostlers, 2 chiropodists, 5 lawyers, 24 den- 
tists, 67 divines, and 525 physicians. Of the 44,000 officials of 
government 414 were females. The problem in regard to work 
for women is not, therefore, to devise new occupations for them 
so much as to facilitate their entering largely into those in 
which they are already engaged ; and, still more, to endeavor to 
secure for them adequate remuneration in these employments. 



WORK FOR WOMEN". 



495 



There is hardly an occupation, where both sexes are en- 
gaged, in which the earnings of women are not much less than 
those of men. The reason for this is that their work is usual- 
ly not worth as much ; and the explanation is found not in the 
fact that they are physically or intellectually less capable than 
men, but in their failure to devote themselves with equal per- 
sistence to learning how to perform the work which they un- 
dertake. The two sexes, indeed, differ in many respects, physi- 
cally and mentally ; but leaving out of view those employments 
in which great physical exertion is required, the natural advan- 
tages about equally balance each other. 

A young man looks upon the occupation in which he is 
about to engage as the one which will most likely be the busi- 
ness of his life. He has, therefore, every incentive to make him- 
self master of it, for in that mastery lies mainly his prospect 
of ultimate success. He knows, moreover, that the family which 
he will in time come to have around him will depend upon his 
exertions. From the very first he looks upon his trade or pro- 
fession as a permanent one. He learns telegraphy, let us say, 
and expects to be a telegrapher, and means to be a thoroughly 
competent one. The young woman who learns the same busi- 
ness comes to it with very different purposes. In the great 
majority of cases she naturally and properly anticipates that she 
will be a wife before many years or, perhaps, months have 
passed. This anticipation gives form and color to the whole 
of her life as a workwoman. This subject can be best studied 
in those occupations in which both sexes are employed in the 
same kind of work. 

Silver-working. — A large silverware manufactory in New 
York employs many hands, among whom are twenty-five wom- 
en, who earn from four to twelve dollars a week. The result 
of their experience with workers of both sexes is suggestive. 
They say : 

"Young women who have secured positions in the factory are, as a rule, 
loath to make haste slowly. Their brothers enter at sixteen, and obtain men's 
wages only after an apprenticeship of five years, meanwhile receiving four 
dollars a week and upward. They understand perfectly that any real advance 



496 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



in acquiring a knowledge of the silversmith's art, and proficiency in the use of 
it, must be made gradually, and step by step. They have been taught so by 
their parents, by their associates, and by their own observation, and they act 
accordingly. But the girl who goes to work there has an extra purpose of her 
own. She wishes to get over the preparatory ground as rapidly as possible, 
and to earn full wages in half the time that her brothers do. She has not 
learned that in such a business she must make haste slowly if she is to make 
speed at all. 

" In the next place — not always, but frequently — she becomes restive under 
authority, and occasionally refuses to do the work laid out for her. ' This 
piece of silver,' said a girl to the foreman, ' is too thick for me to saw : it is 
men's work.' The foreman will tell you that when he is pleasant to a girl 
under him she is apt to try to ride over him. Any boy or young man in a 
similar position would expect to be discharged at once if he hesitated to obey 
the foreman, or suggested that somebody else could do better what had been 
asked of him. A young woman, on the contrary, is found to be more or less 
disputatious in tendency — to argue a matter where every law and precedent of 
business life requires prompt obedience to the orders of the foreman. 

"Nor is it easy, when the foreman insists upon having his orders obeyed, 
for her to believe that he is strictly impartial. ' You don't like women, Mr. 

A ,' said a young woman, in answer to the repetition of a request from the 

foreman that she should do something distasteful to her. And if, on the other 
hand, the foreman seems unusually complacent, his demeanor is apt to be 
ascribed to his own good-nature, without reference to her own merits or de- 
merits. The other day a young woman said of her foreman to a fellow-worker : 

' Mr. B has a noble heart.' ' Better not trust to that,' was the reply; 'he 

will discharge you in a minute if he thinks you deserve it.' The inability to 
appreciate the significance of the phrase, ' Business is business,' lies at the root 
of such shortcomings on the part of young women. 

" Then again, the young woman who is learning the silversmith's art has 
been found to lack self-confidence. 'Well, if you think I can do it,' she is apt 
to reply, when asked to do something new to her. ' Don't be timid,' replies the 
foreman ; ' if you get it wrong, try again.' The prospect of learning a new 
branch of the trade usually disheartens her. She will go a certain distance 
very well, but she will not learn the one thing extra, the knowledge of which 
would give her the rank and the pay of a skilled workman. Etching on silver 
is to-day more fashionable than engraving on silver ; but if the case were to be 
reversed, and engraving should again come to the front, the foreman would 
expect the average girl to be unwilling to learn engraving if she had already 
learned etching. ' One trade is enough for me,' he would expect to hear her 
say. 

" Then, moreover, there is the old obstacle of marriage. You train a girl to 
be an expert in the business, and all your time and labor go for nothing the mo- 
ment she gets married. We have here scores of boys who wish to stay for life, 




EMBROIDERED SCREEN. 
See Note 36. 



WORK FOR WOMEN. 



499 



because they know that we can make it for their advantage to do so. Every- 
thing we teach them is a permanent help to us ; their services become more and 
more valuable, and are always at hand. But as soon as one of our girls is 
married that is the end of her, as far as we are concerned, and what encour- 
agement is there in training a girl when she may leave you at any moment ?" 

To the question, if there was any reason why girls should 
not resume work in this establishment after marriage, the reply 
was, " None whatever. We should be glad to have them come 
back, but they never do ; they are too proud." This pride is in 
itself a very proper one, and is fully shared by their husbands. 
Both feel that they have married for a home, and, at the very 
best, much that constitutes a home is lost if the wife must be 
absent from it during the day. The objection on either side 
is not that the wife should work, and work for pay, if she can do 
this at home. Upon one occasion the foreman of such an estab- 
lishment was asked by a workman to let him take home work 
to be done by his wife, who had left upon her marriage. " We 
cannot do that," was the reply, " but if your wife will return to 
her old place we will find work for her." The well-meant offer 
was not accepted. 

In the establishment of which we are speaking women are 
paid the same prices as men, for the same work. That the best 
female workers do not receive as much as the best males is sim- 
ply because they do not earn it. For reasons such as have been 
adduced they have not qualified themselves for doing the work 
which requires the most skill, and which consequently is most 
highly paid. But these objections do not apply to every young 
woman, and not, to a very serious degree, to the majority of those 
employed by this establishment, for the proprietors propose not 
only to continue to employ women, but to increase their number 
very largely, not out of charity, but simply because, upon the 
whole, they find it for their interest to do so. The disadvan- 
tages arising from the employment of women in their business 
are counterbalanced by such advantages as the following: 

" Girls are regularly at their places on Monday morning, while men are not 
always so. Moreover — and this is a matter which is coming to be regarded as 
of no little import — women are not often members of trades - unions, by 



500 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



which they may be ordered to ' strike ' at any moment, whether they like it or 
not. Thus, in two ways, and to a certain extent, they are more reliable than 
men. Then again there are certain departments in this art, as in several oth- 
ers, in which the thinner skin and more delicate nervous system of women are 
thought to give them a natural capability superior to that of men." 

We have spoken at length of the silversmith's art as appli- 
cable to women, for it is one in which the experiment may be 
considered as having been fairly tried. It requires nothing for 
which the physical powers of women are not fully adequate. 
The departments in which it has been found that women work 
to as much advantage as men are thus stated by the able writer,* 
from whom the foregoing statement has been condensed : i. Gen- 
eral finishing, including burnishing. 2. Preparation for gilding, 
for enamelling, and for etching. 3. Engraving. 4. Chasing, or 
repousse work. This last consists in the indenting or modelling 
of the surface, the parts of the metal not being cut away, as in 
engraving. The writer adds : 

" All this work requires the exercise of artistic taste to a greater or less 
extent, and if we add to it the higher business of designing, in which women 
have already accomplished excellent results, we shall obtain a just conception 
of the nature of woman's work as a silversmith. Any woman possessing ability 
as a designer can earn from twenty to sixty dollars a week, and there is no 
reason why she should not fit herself for that specialty. But to become a sil- 
versmith a woman must be willing to enter a workshop, to obey rules that 
sometimes seem harsh, and to be dead in earnest." 

Art-work. — In work in which the artistic faculty is brought 
into play, and just in proportion as this is the case, women are 
growing into an equality with men in the matter of remunera- 
tion ; but here we meet the same difficulties which have been 
mentioned in the case of silversmithing : they are too much in 
haste ; they wish to reap the harvest as soon as the seed has 
been sown. Take a single example : Some two years ago the 
Metropolitan Museum of New York opened a class for instruc- 
tion in decorative art, the object being " to furnish instruction to 
young women seeking a means of support in practical, remuner- 



In Harper's Bazar, August 18, 1883. 



WORK FOR WOMEN. 



501 



ative production." A considerable number of pupils presented 
themselves the first year. The second year the attendance was 
much less. One of the directors of the Museum thus accounted 
for the notable falling off in the number of pupils : 

" The whole trouble is this : the young women who entered the class were 
in too great a hurry to make money ; they expected to be coached at once into 
a state of affluent remuneration. Anybody can easily learn a smattering of 
anything, but there is no royal road to thorough knowledge. In order to design 
well, a protracted drill in elementary principles — particularly in drawing — is in- 
dispensable. As soon as we began to teach them drawing they were impatient 
to get into coloring. As soon as we began to show them how to make money, 
they were so eager to be making it as to spurn the necessary prerequisites there- 
to. This has been our difficulty, and it is one that cannot be overcome until 
young women who aspire to support themselves by art consent to make them- 
selves, at least, respectable draughtsmen." 

Nevertheless there are not wanting young women who have 
the good-sense to perceive the openings which present them- 
selves in this direction and the resolution to put forth the pre- 
liminary effort requisite for success. We collate from various 
authentic sources instances and hints of what has been done 
by a few persons within less than two years, as furnishing an 
indication of what may be done by others : 

A young woman who has mastered the fundamental princi- 
ples of design, and who is able to impress herself upon her 
work, has several ways for disposing of the products of her skill : 

1. She may become a teacher. In 1882 we are told that at 
the Cooper Institute " the demand from the West for teachers of 
drawing is greater than ever before ; and clever girls who are 
recommended by the authorities of the Institute find no diffi- 
culty in obtaining remunerative positions. One of these girls 
is now a teacher in Michigan, at a salary of eighty dollars a 
month ; another receives a thousand dollars a year. In the 
Eastern cities and their suburbs from one dollar to two dollars 
an hour is paid for such instruction by principals of schools or 
private persons. But it must be borne in mind that in order to 
become a successful teacher one must have already been a dili- 
gent and apt pupil." 

2. Some of the leading firms of house-decorators now employ 



502 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



women to carry out their designs, at a salary of from eight to 
twelve dollars a week. " This work pays less than much special 
work performed by the artist at her own home, but it affords 
her a means of familiarizing herself with the best which is doing 
in her department, increases her acquaintance with the current 
modes of business, and gives her many facilities of creating a 
constituency of her own — provided always that she possesses the 
requisite capacities, and has learned the meaning of the phrase, 
1 Business is business.' " 

3. She may make designs at home, and sell them directly. 
The demand for such designs is much more widely extended 
than one not acquainted with the subject would suppose. A 
really artistic design for a dealer's " trade-mark " has no little to 
do in selling the article. A gentleman's hat, with a pretty stamp 
on the lining of the crown, will sell more readily than it would 
without it. A box of confectionery, of gloves, or any one of a 
hundred fancy articles, is much more attractive to purchasers 
if it bears a tasteful label. Not a little genuine artistic skill is 
now put forth on the business cards of tradesmen. Clever deal- 
ers have discovered that such a card is preserved and looked at 
by a score of persons, when an ordinary one would be thrown 
aside at once. An appropriate artistic design for the cover of a 
book does no little towards increasing its sale. A cleverly de- 
signed placard induces many purchasers to enter a shop which 
they would otherwise pass by. Tradesmen and manufacturers 
of all kinds are becoming aware of this, and act accordingly. 
At first they contented themselves with borrowing the designs 
of foreigners ; but they have more than begun to discover that 
there is such a thing as an American public desirous of having 
original designs and patterns such as shall express American 
ideas and feelings, and bring out the aroma of the soil upon 
which Americans live. 

Engraving.— Wood -engraving has been mentioned in an- 
other place as among the arts which afford a high scope for the 
labor of women. Ten years ago we doubt if there was in the 
United States a single woman who had even begun fairly to 
look to this profession. If there were any female engravers in 



WORK FOR WOMEN. 



503 



1880, the enumerators of the Census failed to discover the fact. 
Now the number is quite noticeable who have already passed 
the threshold, and there are at least half a dozen who may be 
fairly ranked among the members of the school of American 
engravers, confessedly the best in the world. Among the 
scores who are aiming in the same direction it may fairly be ex- 
pected that there are others who will come to stand by their 
side. We are told that " the most successful of the women en- 
gravers who have fought their way into the front ranks of the 
men engravers has taken eight years in accomplishing the feat, 
but already she is offered more orders than she can execute, and 
some of her best work has paid her at the rate of sixty dollars a 
week." A man or woman who attains the capacity of producing 
the best class of work in eight years of diligent labor and study 
does well. 

But he or she has this advantage over the members of most 
professions : the work is of such a nature that it speaks for it- 
self, and needs no great previous reputation to secure recogni- 
tion from the publishers and editors who are the main custom- 
ers. And, moreover, there are opportunities for earning respect- 
able sums while actually learning. The statement was authori- 
tatively made in 1882 that "in one of the classes of the Cooper 
Institute are two clever girls who, in the second year of their 
training, made six hundred dollars apiece by executing orders 
for publishers ; and last year there were twelve pupils who 
earned a hundred dollars apiece in the same way in twelve 
weeks — a sum more than sufficient to meet their necessary 
expenses during that term ; this money was received for work 
in the profession which they were studying. They were fitting 
themselves to get better prices by earning the money which they 
did get." 

There is for women a special advantage in this work above 
that of the silversmith. It is not necessary that the work 
should be done in a factory or workshop, but may just as well 
be carried on at home. The accomplished woman engraver 
who marries is not thereby precluded from gainful employment 
any more than is the female author. If her household duties 



504 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



are such as to leave her the time, she can devote it to the prac- 
tice of her profession as a regular employment. 

Other Spheres for Women Artists. — The sphere which 
decorative art already opens for woman's work is continually 
widening. Many things have contributed to this, but nothing 
else so much as the far-sighted benevolence of Peter Cooper. 
If we were called upon to name the noblest feature of that mon- 
ument which he has erected for himself, we should select the 
" Free Art School for Women " — a department of the Cooper 
Institute. Not long before his death, in April, 1883, we read 
that at the previous session of the school 1397 pupils applied 
for admission, but only 711 obtained it, on account of lack 
of room. One of the teachers, herself a woman, said that 
during the previous year forty of her pupils in art had made 
$7000, or $175 each, while learning the art of crayon-photogra- 
phy. " Every year one hundred young women, on leaving the 
Cooper Institute, make from $400 to $1200 a year by art-work, 
the largest demand being for teachers of drawing and for 
makers of crayon-photographs. One graduate is now receiving 
from $2000 to $3000 a year as a teacher of drawing in the New 
York public schools, and another has been appointed manager 
of a decorative art society in New Orleans, with a salary of 
$150 a month, w T ith opportunities to earn as much more by 
private tuition ; and similar instances are numerous." The 
writer of the foregoing goes on to say: 

" A little girl, as Mr. Cooper described her to me, called at his house to 
thank him for what she had learned at the Institute. ' 1 have earned $300 this 
year,' she exclaimed, with enthusiasm, ' by painting photographs, and anything 
else I could get hold of.' A man in middle life met Mr. Cooper on the stairs 
of the Institute. 'My daughter,' he said, 'makes $1300 a year by teaching 
painting and drawing in a Brooklyn school, and I never earned more than 
$1200 a year myself.' A young woman from California sat on the sofa in Mr. 
Cooper's library. 'I have come to thank you,' she said. 'I feel as rich as a 
queen. I have thirty pupils in wood -engraving.' Like her two sisters just 
mentioned, she had studied art at the Cooper Institute." 

The coloring of photographs gives employment to many 
hundreds of young women, and there is no prospect that the 



WORK FOR WOMEN. 



505 



market will become glutted. In 1882 there were thirty of 
these young workers in the school of the Cooper Institute, one 
coloring a portrait, another a landscape, a third an interior, and 
so on. About one-fifth of this number were earning from five 
to twelve dollars a week by executing orders, and this while they 
were learning their art. After a two-years' course of study many 
of them will make more, and sometimes even during the first 
year they earn as much. But let no one imagine that facility 
or even capability in this art is to be acquired without a natural 
artistic faculty, and granting this, not without labor and thought. 
Each art has demands of its own. This one demands not only 
an eye for colors and dexterity in using them, but also a knowl- 
edge of drawing. 

Painting on china is another of the ornamental arts in which 
women may to a certain extent find remunerative employment. 
The subject of decorated pottery has been considered in a pre- 
vious chapter. Here it may be added that the general principles 
of art having been mastered, their special application for this 
purpose is easily learned. Four years ago it was assumed that 
the passion for decorated china was merely a " craze," which 
would soon die out, but there is no present indication of this, 
the shelves of the crockery-dealers are full of painted china, and 
the Society for Decorative Art finds sale for more of it than for 
any other production except embroidery. 

Embroidery is especially woman's work, but like all other 
needlework it is very poorly paid. Large quantities of it do, 
indeed, find purchasers, but those who have the best oppor- 
tunities for making an estimate say that a skilful embroiderer 
who can earn two dollars a day in this occupation, so wearying 
to the back and eye, is fortunate far beyond the average. Small 
articles for common use pay better than larger ones. It was 
thought to be a great thing, not long since, when a piece of 
elaborate embroidery was sold for $125, but it had cost just that 
number of days to do the work. It must be set down as one of 
those very pretty arts which a lady may practise at odd hours 
for her own adornment, or for making acceptable presents to her 
friends, and if she occasionally receives a few dollars for an order 



506 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



from the Decorative Art Society, or otherwise, that is so much 
clear gain. 

Women as Artists. — Mrs. Susan N. Carter, the accom- 
plished principal of Cooper Union School of Art, presents, un- 
der the title, "Women who should not Study Art for a Living,"* 
some suggestions well worthy of consideration in connection 
with what has been stated in the preceding paragraphs. She 
says : 

" It is a curious and interesting study to look over the multitude of drawings 
which are sent each season for inspection to a school like this. The pictures 
are supposed to prove the talent of their authors, who hope, after a few months' 
study, to earn a good living by art. Some of the drawings are good, and occa- 
sionally a really beautiful specimen of flower-painting, pen-and-ink work, or lit- 
tle landscape is sent. But most frequently these works are rude copies of bad 
originals, and really indicate nothing, as a general thing. The girl mav have 
talent, and she may not. All that can be known is that she wishes to make out 
a living and a profession. If she truly wishes to succeed what must she do ? 

" In music it is very obvious that the fingers can only gain strength and 
nimbleness by constant practice, and in art it is equally true that the eye and 
the judgment can be trained only by long and constant effort. A few hours 
in the week may make a pleasant amateur artist, but the work which can rank 
as professional, and which will insure pecuniary reward, has to be pursued 
through long, steady interest and application. 

" It is true that often, after a few months' teaching, young women can earn 
money by finishing photographs, but those who do this have talent for like- 
nesses and a clear eye to preserve the look of the portrait, for a careless touch 
or blunt perception may in a moment efface the line w r hich makes a nostril or 
the curve of a lip true. And if the artist has not the knowledge of form to appre- 
ciate how the picture should look when finished, it will quit her hands a stupid 
and ignorant result. Photograph work requires patience, neatness, talent for 
observing and producing form — or, at least, not losing it — and long application. 
The young artist must have mastered the details of form, use of material, ideas 
of style, until she knows a great deal about drawing, and then only can she 
succeed. 

" Engraving, much more than photography, requires continuous study. A 
woman with deft fingers, a quick eye, and intelligence, united to a sense of the 
picturesque, may, indeed, be able to earn money from the work she can do in 
simple line-engraving if she study six hours a day during that time; but unless 
she is willing to give at least three years to her education she had better not 
adopt this profession. In drawing, also, and learning to design, character and 



* In Harper's Bazar, February 3, 1883. 



WORK FOR WOMEN. 



509 



disciplined powers are as important as talent; and though in teaching several 
thousands of women to draw during the past ten years I have never had an 
example of success unless aptitude was shown soon after the beginning of study, 
yet beauty, comeliness of form, rendering of light and shade, and the number- 
less points which make the charm and value of a good drawing, come only from 
the continuous habit of study, which carries the thought of one day into the 
work of the next, and so accumulates and develops artistic impressions. 

" Brilliant examples of success have led many young women to seek admis- 
sion into art-schools who have not the proper qualifications. A large class of 
those who plan and work to enter the school have no clear idea of what will 
make their lives a failure or a success. All the qualities I have named are 
?iecessary, and unless a young woman is possessed of them her labor is in vain. 
If they have the necessary talent, and love art enough to make the sacrifices 
required for success, let them venture, but none should attempt art merely be- 
cause they desire to get a living. They had better try something for which 
they have an aptitude, or at least some occupation which does not require all 
these essential qualifications which I have mentioned. 

" There is one point about which many women think vaguely : What neces- 
sary connection is there between marriage and art-employment ? Long obser- 
vation of multitudes of women is convincing that though many give, up such 
work when they marry, yet, if they have really studied it to the point of success, 
they can use their whole time, or even odd time, in doing work which will pay 
well. They have really learned a profession, and whether it is simple or elabo- 
rate work, with a little continued practice they can still earn money after their 
steady and continuous school study has ceased." 



510 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XL. 



WORK FOR W O M E N — Contin ned. 



LERKSHIPS of various kinds are amon^ the branches 



of industry which occupy women. The number who are 
thus engaged is quite considerable, but the Census Report is 
not sufficiently definite to be of much value in this respect. 
The cases are exceptional in which book-keepers receive more 
than two-thirds as much as men who perform similar duties, 
and the instances are exceedingly rare in which female book- 
keepers are employed in situations which among men command 
high salaries. Very many are engaged as saleswomen. The 
number of young women in this vocation, and even of girls be- 
low the age of sixteen, is inordinately large. The duties are 
very exhausting, and are protracted more than in almost any 
other occupation; for, as a rule, stores are kept open to a later 
hour than workshops. In many ways, at which it is not neces- 
sary to more than hint, a shop-girl is exposed to peculiar temp- 
tations, especially wdiere men constitute the customers whom 
she has to serve. 

Telegraphy presents many apparent advantages for women. 
It does not involve the soiling of dresses, the operators do not 
stand, they need not sit in a constrained posture, and the work 
does not involve great muscular exertion ; yet there is certainly 
a severe strain upon the nervous system, and as they are more 
delicately organized than men, they are less adapted to the most 
efficient protracted telegraphic labor. The experiment has been 
pretty fairly tried by the great telegraphic corporations, bodies 
which can be moved only by pecuniary considerations, and the 
result seems beyond dispute : women, as a rule, are not as effi* 




WORK FOR WO M E N — Continued. 511 

cient as men. The poorest of the one sex are probably no 
worse than the poorest of the other, but the average of the 
females of the same experience is below the average of the 
males, and the very best female operators are not above the 
average of the males. Taking all things into account, it may 
be fairly concluded that telegraphy presents, for women, just 
about the same inducements as does the profession of teach- 
ing in the public schools of our cities and large towns, with 
this difference : that teaching offers some positions which pay 
much better. 

Type-writing is an occupation which has sprung into exist- 
ence within less than ten years, and is especially adapted to 
women, requiring in the main physical and mental qualities in 
which she excels man — such as quickness of apprehension and 
delicacy of touch. The operator frequently performs the func- 
tions of a private secretary and amanuensis, and is rapidly 
taking the place of the copyist in law-offices and counting- 
rooms. Her efficiency, and, consequently, her remuneration, 
may be greatly enhanced by a knowledge of some other mat- 
ters. Phonography is an adjunct of very decided advantage, 
for she will not unfrequently be called upon to write from dic- 
tation. She need not be so rapid a phonographer as to be 
able to follow unerringly a fluent public speaker: half or a 
third of that rate will answer every usual purpose. The per- 
son who is dictating rarely talks at full speed, and will make 
the requisite pauses, or repeat anything that has not been per- 
fectly understood. A fair preliminary education, equivalent at 
least to that imparted in our best public schools, is an essen- 
tial prerequisite. She will, moreover, be obliged to write down 
from dictation many words not used in common conversation. 
These will vary with the nature of the business of her employer. 
If he is a lawyer, there will be one set of technical words ; if a 
merchant, another set, and so on. She should understand the 
meaning of these when she hears them, and know how they 
are to be spelled. Defective orthography is an almost insu- 
perable bar to success. An acquaintance with some foreign 
languages, especially French and German, is a very decided 



512 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



advantage. This occupation is very rapidly extending, and it 
is universally conceded that young women make better opera- 
tors than young men. The average earnings are estimated at 
$500 a year: a few receive twice as much. The work in it- 
self is among the most pleasant of all employments, being 
almost the same as piano-playing, only with a key-board of half 
the size. The hours are usually considerably less than in most 
other employments, being those of the business -man rather 
than of the workman. 

Type-setting. — Closely allied to type-writing is type-setting. 
Some of the large publishing-houses have separate composing- 
rooms for men and women, although in the latter, as will be 
seen, it is necessary to employ men to do certain portions of 
the work. From the foreman of one of the best organized of 
these offices we gather the following particulars : There are 
in his room about fifteen female compositors, and as many men 
and boys. The girls have been mostly trained in the office. It 
is preferred that one should be about -fifteen when she begins. 
She works two months without pay, for it costs more to teach 
her the elements than her work is worth. If she has made fair 
progress, at the close of the two months she is paid by the 
piece, at full woman's rates, the amount of her earnings depend- 
ing wholly upon the quantity of work which she accomplishes. 
It will not be very long before the average female compositor 
will earn $4 per week, gradually increasing as she becomes 
more expert. At the end of a year or so she will earn on an 
average $7 a week. She is not tied very closely to a given num- 
ber of hours a day. As a rule, she is engaged about eight and 
a half hours, although she may, if she choose, work ten hours, 
as the men and boys usually do ; in which case, as she works 
by the piece, her earnings would be so much more. That she 
labors shorter hours is not to be attributed to indolence, for 
there are many things which a woman attends to for herself 
which a man cannot well do : such as repairing her own dresses, 
and even making them, to a greater or less extent. The present 
rate here for ordinary plain work (upon which they are mainly 
employed) is 35 cents per 1000 ems. The men receive 38 cents, 



WORK FOR WOMEN — Continued. 



513 



but they do several things in connection with their work which 
the foreman or his assistants do for the women ; so that, prac- 
tically, the pay of the two sexes is equal for the same work. 

The experience of the establishment for several years is to 
this general purport: the directions in which female labor can 
be advantageously employed are somewhat limited. In "plain 
work," that is, where an ordinary book — say a novel, or the 
usual pages of a volume like this — is to be set up from printed 
copy, or from manuscript properly prepared for the printer, there 
is no very great difference between men and women, whatever 
advantage there is being, however, in favor of the former, for the 
" proofs " of the men are, as a rule, more free from errors than 
those of the women, and therefore demand less labor on the part 
of the proof-reader ; but in the more intricate kinds of work, such 
as the tables in this volume, women are very decidedly inferior 
to men. The man will usually study out for himself how a diffi- 
cult piece of work should be done ; the woman would expect 
that the foreman should explain it to her. As the foreman 
phrased it : " My girls don't like conjuring up how to do any- 
thing ; they do not put so much brains into their work as the 
boys do." Probably there is not a single female compositor in 
New York who could advantageously, either to herself or to the 
office, be set to do any of the table-work in this volume. 

In the office of which we are speaking only very neat work 
is allowed to pass. For example, the matter must be uniformly 
" spaced ;" that is, not only must an equal space be left between 
the words in each line, but the spacing in the different lines 
must be as nearly as possible uniform. There must not be some 
lines very thinly spaced and others very widely spaced. There 
are offices in which women are largely employed at prices very 
much below those which we have given, and where neatness of 
execution is not insisted upon. Women trained in such offices 
have sometimes found employment in the one of which we are 
speaking, but the experience of the foreman has been that it 
is much harder to make them unlearn bad workmanship than 
to teach fresh hands to do good work from the first. Men are 
much more readily raised to a higher degree of skill. 

28 



514 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



There are few employments in which a young woman can 
begin to earn wages so quickly after beginning as in this, and 
the sum which she can expect to earn is decidedly above the 
wages paid to operatives in factories or upon sewing-machines, 
and is quite as pleasant and healthy. 

The Civil Service of the United States Government cer- 
tainly affords opportunities for the employment of many women, 
and should probably afford more. In theory the law, as it 
stands, renders " nominations to clerkships open to women as 
well as to men." But practically, according to the rules, al- 
though the number of nominations may be ever so large, the 
number of actual appointments of females must, in any case, be 
comparatively small. The posts attainable by women may be 
arranged in three classes: i. Certain designated positions in the 
various departments at Washington. Practically these are in 
the Treasury Department, where it is said that in counting 
money women excel men. 2. Appointments in the postal ser- 
vice ; but these positions occur only in post-offices where the 
whole number of officials is not less than fifty. Of these offices 
there are at present only twenty-three, in the following cities: 
Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincin- 
nati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, 
Milwaukee, Newark, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, 
Pittsburg, Providence, Rochester, St. Louis, San Francisco, and 
Washington. 3. In Custom-houses in which the whole number 
of officials is not less than fifty. Such offices are at present in 
the following eleven cities : Baltimore, Boston, Burlington (Vt.), 
Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port 
Huron, Portland, and San Francisco. The larger number of 
clerkships are in the first of these divisions. 

As there is every probability that the " classified civil ser- 
vice " will hereafter embrace many more females that it has 
heretofore done, it is desirable that the prescribed mode of pro- 
cedure should be generally known. There is a regular form for 
an " application paper," which can be obtained either from the 
office of the Civil Service Commission at Washington, or from 
the post-office or custom-house of either of the cities above- 



WORK FOR WOMEN— Continued. 



515 



mentioned. This application, which must contain the names 
of five persons as vouchers for the good character of the appli- 
cant, must be forwarded to the Commission at Washington, if 
it is for a position in one of the departments, or, if in the postal 
or revenue service, to the postmaster or head of the custom- 
house of the district in which service is desired. The party 
does not apply directly for an appointment, but for admission 
to an " open, competitive examination as to fitness for the public 
service ;" and when a vacancy occurs it is to be filled by selec- 
tion, according to grade, from among those graded highest as 
the result of such competitive examination ; " but the number 
of appointments must be apportioned among the several States 
and Territories, upon the basis of their respective population." 
The names of the applicants are entered upon a register, but 
no person can remain eligible more than one year upon any 
register. 

The examination takes place at such time and place as is 
designated by the proper authorities. It consists mainly of 
written answers to written questions upon the following subjects : 
i. Orthography, penmanship, and copying. 2. Arithmetic. 3. 
Interest, discount, and the elements of book-keeping. 4. Ele- 
ments of the English language, letter-writing, and the proper 
construction of sentences. 5. Elements of the geography, his- 
tory, and government of the United States. Proficiency in 
these subjects will be credited, in the grading of, the candidates, 
" in proportion to the value of a knowledge of such subjects in 
the branch or part of the service which the applicant seeks to 
enter;" but in the first, second, and third of the above divisions 
the applicant, in order to receive a certificate, must receive at 
least 65 per cent, of "complete proficiency" — that is, nearly 
two-thirds of the questions must be answered correctly. 

When a vacancy occurs in any of these branches, the officer 
who has the power of appointment applies to the board of ex- 
aminers for four names from those standing highest on the 
proper register, and the law provides that " sex shall be disre- 
garded in such certification, unless there be a law or regulation 
which calls for those of either sex, in which case the four high- 



516 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



est of that sex shall be certified." Practically, therefore, one of 
the four persons, irrespective of sex, who are graded highest, 
must receive the appointment, and if any one is higher than all 
the rest, it may be assumed that he or she will be the successful 
candidate. If two or more receive the same grade, the selection 
between them will devolve upon the head of the department in 
question. The appointee remains upon " probation " for six 
months, when, if competency is evinced, the appointment is 
finally confirmed, and the incumbent cannot be removed except 
for cause duly proven. It will be seen that in respect to these 
appointments there is no distinction of sex. The salaries of 
each position are definitely fixed by law, altogether irrespective 
of the sex of the appointee; and though none of the salaries 
are very large, they are yet sufficient to make these positions 
apparently very desirable for women. The highest salary, we 
believe, attached to any of these clerkships is $1500 per year. 

This system of rendering certain positions in the Govern- 
ment service non-political is an experiment among us, but it has 
been tried in Great Britain to some extent for a long time, in 
respect to both sexes, and the results are universally conceded 
to be eminently satisfactory. If the positions of which we speak 
were subject to what has been our baneful custom, by which it 
is held that the "patronage " of offices belongs to the politicians 
who happen to be in power, and that the bestowal of them is to 
be a reward for services rendered to "the party" by friends of 
the applicants, we should certainly do all in our power to dis- 
suade women from seeking such employment. But if the aims 
which the Civil Service Commission professes to have in view 
shall be fairly realized, we consider that this occupation is one 
altogether womanly, and the principle embodied in it might 
be extended to many more positions in State and municipal 
governments. 

There are, indeed, numerous positions in the public service 
from which women are naturally excluded by reason of their 
sex. No one would advocate that a woman should be President 
of the United States or Governor of a State, Secretary of War 
or of the Navy, a General in the Army or Admiral in the Navy, 




SOME ART CONNOISSEURS. 
See Note 38. 



WORK FOR W O M EN — Continued. 



519 



Collector of a Port or Chief of Police. But excluding all of 
those clearly unadvisable positions, there still remain many 
which should be open to women, provided they are qualified to 
fill them. The thing upon w T hich those who favor this view 
urgently insist is that women shall have fair opportunity to 
show whether they do or do not possess this fitness. " The 
tools to those who can use them," it is urged, is the true maxim 
to be applied here as elsew T here. The " Civil Service " law is 
intended to promote this end, which all admit to be in every 
way desirable, and, it is hoped, not wholly unattainable. 

It may be assumed that however widely the doors to the Bar 
may be opened, there will never be among us many female law- 
yers, and probably only a few preachers. How far the propor- 
tion of female physicians may properly extend is yet a matter of 
discussion, into which it is not proposed here to enter. It is 
sufficient to say that there has been a steady, if not a rapid, in- 
crease in the number of females who fit themselves for the med- 
ical profession. The requisites for the successful exercise of these 
professions are essentially the same for women as for men. 

Teaching is fully recognized as a feminine not less than a 
masculine profession, and the normal schools for the training of 
competent teachers of both sexes are among the most useful of 
our educational institutions. In the matter of remuneration 
there is certainly a tendency in the right direction. As women 
become more and more fitted for this profession, their salaries 
approximate more and more to those of men ; but in both, as 
has already been insisted upon, the salaries are wholly too low 
for the duties which a competent teacher has to perform. In 
the higher grades of our public schools the inequality of salaries 
paid to the sexes should be done away with. The duties im- 
posed upon the principal of a female grammar-school in the city 
of New York are in no respect less than those of the principal 
of a male school. If a woman cannot perform them as well as 
a man, this is a good reason why she should not fill such a 
situation. Here the saving of a few dollars a year, by getting 
inferior service, is the most foolish of all unwise economy. If 
there be, as undoubtedly there are, departments of instruction 



520 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



which men only can fill in the best manner, let them be re- 
served for men ; but no teacher should be called to a place in 
our public schools for which he or she is not fairly competent. 
The value of the services required should be the measure of 
the remuneration, and this value is nowise affected by the sex 
of the teacher. 

The disproportion between the salaries paid to male and 
female teachers, where equal competency may be assumed, is 
fairly shown in the grammar-schools in the city of New York. 
In these, in 1882, there were 23,102 male pupils and 726 male 
teachers, with an average of 31.7 boys to one teacher. There 
were 19,844 female pupils and 607 female teachers — an average 
of 32.7 girls to one teacher. The average salary of all male 
teachers is $1112; the average salary of all female teachers, 
$826. The salary of the male principal of a school, with an 
average attendance of more than 500 pupils, is $3000 ; that 
of the female principal of such a school, $1700. The salary 
of the male vice -principal of a school having more than 250 
pupils is $2000; that of the female vice-principal, $1200. The 
average salary of male assistant teachers is $1500; of female 
assistants, $800. There is, moreover, a special provision that 
the Board of Education may pay to all male principals of more 
than fourteen years' service a salary of not less than $2500, and 
to all such female principals not less than $1900, irrespective of 
the number of pupils in their schools. Thus the highest possi- 
ble salary of a male principal is $3000, and the highest possible 
salary of a female principal is $1900. A similar discrimination 
against women pervades the whole system. Thus there is a 
grade of junior teachers whose salaries for the first year are 
$700 for males and $400 for females. 

In Literature and Art there is no such discrimination against 
woman. She receives just as much as a man does for a story or 
an essay, for a novel or a history, for painting a picture or sing- 
ing a song. If any one gets more than another, it is because 
the work is worth more. At present fully one-half of the popu- 
lar novels, poems, and magazine sketches are written by women. 
Women here are as successful as men, just because their work is 



WORK FOR WOMEN— Continued. 



521 



as good. The public and the publishers care nothing for the 
sex of an author. 

Nursing. — However wide may be the divergence of senti- 
ment upon other points, no one questions that the care of the 
sick is pre-eminently woman's work. It is one which has always 
devolved upon her, and it seems almost to be assumed that pro- 
ficiency in it comes to her by instinct, without need of careful 
and well directed training. It may be admitted that many wom- 
en — perhaps most — are, to a certain extent, natural nurses. 
There are few women who will not be called upon at one time or 
another to act as such in their own families, and all should learn 
what is to be done in common cases of indisposition, and even 
in graver emergencies, when the attendance of a competent phy- 
sician cannot at once be had. There are, moreover, everywhere 
women who have somehow gained the reputation of being skilful 
nurses, and they are not unfrequently called upon by their neigh- 
bors to advise what should be done ; but the ideas which such 
persons have acquired are often misleading : they are apt to ad- 
vise in all cases something which they suppose has proved bene- 
ficial in some other instance. If it so happen that several such 
persons give their advice in anyone case, they will differ very 
greatly, the patient or his friends not seldom undertaking to 
follow all the recommendations, and serious results often ensue 
from this ill-advised overnursing or overdosing, even when the 
advice of any one of them might have been properly followed 
until better could be had. The importance of this household 
nursing can hardly be overrated. It is proposed here, however, 
to speak of nursing as a profession, to be studied as such, with the 
purpose of making it a remunerative occupation for those who 
may be led in that direction by circumstances or inclination. 

If there be one thing for which it is wise to provide before- 
hand, it is for proper care during sickness, which may come to 
all and will surely come to most. It is much to have a compe- 
tent physician, but this is by no means all. A physician with a 
large practice can devote only a comparatively small portion of 
his time to any one patient, no matter how critical the case may 
be, for there will be others with equal claims upon his care. He 



522 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



can rarely spend consecutive hours by the sick-bed, watching 
each change of the disease, and personally seeing to it that his 
directions are followed to the letter. When he makes his regu- 
lar visit he needs to know not merely what is the present appar- 
ent condition of his patient, but also what fluctuations have 
taken place since his last diagnosis. He can, indeed, infer 
much from what he sees at the time, but upon some points 
he must depend upon the information of others. Few patients 
are in a state to describe accurately their own condition, and 
the friends in attendance are usually equally incapable. 

That the physician should act with perfect confidence in a 
critical case, it is essential that he should be assured that the 
patient is under the care of a person who will not only obey his 
orders, but can inform him what has been the effect of his mode 
of treatment. The province of the nurse is not in the least 
to supersede the functions of the physician, but to aid him in 
carrying * them out. The wiser a physician is, the more fully 
will he recognize the value of a competent nurse ; and if, as is 
always desirable, she be selected by him, so much the greater 
will be the hopefulness with which he meets the responsibili- 
ties of his position. These are heavy enough at the lightest, 
how great soever may be the aid which he may be able to 
secure from the nurse or friends. Indeed, there are reasons 
which render it often desirable that the nurse should not be a 
near connection of the patient. Physicians are usually unwill- 
ing to treat a critical case in their own families, for they are 
aware that their anxiety tends to impair the soundness of their 
judgment. 

This is not less true of the nurse. It is not easy for a wife 
or daughter to compel a husband or father, whose authority has 
always been unquestioned, to do, or suffer to be done, anything 
to which, in his morbid condition, he is averse. A mother or 
sister is under strong temptation to humor a sick child, although 
she is perfectly aware that it may be to its injury. The profes- 
sional nurse should be as free from all this as the physician. 
She should feel, and make others feel, that, in the absence of 
the medical attendant, and subject to his orders, the patient is 



WORK FOR WOMEN — Continued. 



523 



under her sole charge, and that no one must interfere with her. 
When a physician finds that his directions are systematically 
disregarded he throws up the case ; the nurse should do the 
same. 

Except in rare cases, there has been until recently no means 
of securing the services of a competent professional nurse — in 
fact, there was, strictly, no such thing- — and not a year ago an 
able writer speaks of nursing as " a new profession for women." 
The first schools for the practical training of nurses in Great 
Britain originated with the efforts of Florence Nightingale, some 
thirty years ago. The first successful attempt in this country 
was made as late as 1873, by the founding of the Training-school 
for Nurses in connection with the Bellevue Hospital in New 
York. The plan was developed in accordance with that elabo- 
rated by Miss Nightingale. The requisites demanded of the 
applicant for admission included a fair education, healthy con- 
stitution, and freedom from personal defects, especially those of 
sight and hearing. The course of instruction was to last two 
years ; it comprised training in dressing wounds, applying fo- 
mentations, preparing and applying bandages, rollers, and splints 
— cooking, especially the preparation of delicacies for the sick. 
Instruction was also given as to the best methods of warming 
and ventilating the sick-room, and for promptly meeting the 
thousand emergencies which are liable to occur. 

The experience of the first year was not encouraging. Ap- 
plications for admission were presented from two-thirds of the 
States of the Union, but of the 79 applicants only 29 had the 
preliminary qualifications, and of these 10 were dismissed with- 
in nine months. The managers wisely, however, resolved not 
to lower the standard of requirements or the thoroughness of 
training, and they soon found that the fitness of an applicant 
for the work could be determined only by absolute trial, for 
many who at first manifested no special aptitude for the work 
proved in the end to be the most efficient. Some of the stu- 
dents in this school have taken upon themselves this life from 
motives of pure benevolence, meaning to devote themselves to 
the care of the sick poor, but most of them study this new pro- 



524 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



fession with a view to gaining a livelihood, and all receive the 
same general course of instruction. 

All the students are boarded and lodged by the school, which 
has a " home " near the hospital, and receive a small monthly 
stipend. Besides studying from text-books, and attending reg- 
ular courses of lectures, they are occupied in the care of the 
patients in the wards of the hospital ; they are taught how 
to make accurate observations and reports for the use of the 
physician, as to the symptoms and condition of the several pa- 
tients — such as the state of the pulse, the temperature of the 
system, the breathing, appetite, sleep or wakefulness, the effect 
of the diet, medicines, and in fact everything which may aid the 
physician in judging of the condition of the patient and the re- 
sult of his mode of treatment. At the conclusion of the two- 
years' course, and after passing a satisfactory examination, they 
receive a regular diploma, which is enough to insure immedi- 
ate and fairly lucrative employment. The heads of the nursing 
departments of several of the principal hospitals all over the 
Union are graduates of the Bellevue school, but the greater 
number enter upon private practice. Something more than one- 
half of them are now thus engaged in New York, and their 
earnings are greater than the average made by skilled labor, by 
either men or women, in other departments, and fully equal to 
that of the average compensation of female teachers in the New 
York grammar-schools. 

This training-school encountered at first many prejudices 
from various quarters — even from members of the medical 
profession, where it was least to have been expected. It was 
averred that a hospital was not " a proper place for a woman 
to visit" — certainly not for a young woman, unless, perhaps, 
she might be a sister of charity — and it was apprehended 
that trained nurses might set the authority of physicians at 
naught; but the profession has come fully to appreciate the 
value to them of such services, and they have not been slow to 
inculcate the same idea upon their patients. When the man- 
agers of the Bellevue Training-school first proposed to provide 
nurses for private families, the applications were so rare that it 




AMONG THE WEEDS. 
See Note 39. 



WORK FOR WOMEN — Contmued. 



527 



was feared the idea of opening a sphere in this direction must be 
abandoned ; but they persevered, and the call upon them for 
graduates is now greater than they can supply. Physicians are 
beginning to insist upon having their patients attended by a 
well-trained nurse in whom they can confide, and surgeons not 
unfrequently make it a condition, for the performance of a crit- 
ical operation, that the patient shall be subsequently placed un- 
der the care of a person trained for such a position and approved 
by them. Without such co-operation they will not risk their 
own reputation or the life of the patient. 

It may be anticipated that the time will come when it will 
be held just as essential that the professional nurse shall be edu- 
cated in such an institution as has been described, as it is that 
the physician should have studied at some reputable medical 
school. But at present this can be attained only partially. 
There are several training-schools for nurses, but we suppose 
the whole number of their graduates does not exceed iooo, 
whereas the Census shows that there are (including midwives) 
nearly 15,000 female professional nurses, a good proportion of 
whom it is to be hoped have, in some fair measure, qualified them- 
selves to fulfil the duties of their profession. In all cases of severe 
illness it is better to employ an ordinary nurse, if recommended 
by the physician, than for the well members of the household 
to share among themselves the duties of sick-nurse, or even, 
which is better, to devolve it upon one of their number. One 
nurse for an invalid is better than a number, just as one physi- 
cian is better than half a dozen. 

Health has, indeed, a value not in any way to be estimated 
in money ; yet it has also a definite pecuniary value. While 
a man is sick he must spend more than when in health, and 
at the same time he is earning nothing. He loses, therefore, 
this extra sum expended and what he would have earned had 
he been well. No money is more economically expended than 
that which is paid to the competent nurse, when one can be had. 
The number of professional nurses is likely to be for some time 
to come altogether too small for the work to be done, and which 
they will be called upon to do more and more as the public be- 



528 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



come better enlightened upon this subject. This is emphati- 
cally one of the cases in which supply increases demand, and 
demand increases supply, and the limits of either in this de- 
partment of woman's work are far from having been reached. 

At present, and especially away from cities and large towns, 
and apart from those few households which are large enough 
and rich enough to be able to keep a regular nurse, the imme- 
diate care of the sick must be undertaken by the members of 
the family, and mainly by the female members of it. Almost 
every mother of a family, and very many of the unmarried 
daughters, will, at one time or another, be called upon to act as 
nurse, and not seldom in cases where a professional nurse would 
have been in every way desirable. It is assumed that, in case 
of any illness which threatens to be either protracted or imme- 
diately dangerous, a competent physician has been called in ; 
and considering the number of those already in practice, and 
the number who honorably graduate from the great medical 
schools, it will be only in exceptional instances that the aid of 
a competently educated physician is not immediately to be had, 
even by the poorest. The first and paramount duty of the 
household nurse is to follow implicitly the directions of the 
physician. The medicines which he prescribes, and those only, 
should be administered. 

Our newspapers are filled with advertisements of all sorts of 
nostrums, which it is averred are a sure cure for all the ills to 
which flesh is heir. Some of these are beyond doubt valua- 
ble remedies when properly administered. The physician will 
know, or should know, if this be the case, and, what is of the 
utmost importance, when and in what quantities they may be 
properly administered in this particular case. Do not give 
them unless by his direction. Turn a deaf ear to the represen- 
tations of any neighbor who assures you that she has heard of 
some instance in which just such an ailment has been cured by 
such and such a thing. The more such friends you have, the 
more numerous will be the remedies urged upon you ; and the 
more of them you adopt, the greater is the probability that you 
will kill instead of cure the sick person under your care. 



WORK FOR WOMEN — Continued. 



529 



There are certain conditions as to exposure, food, and the 
like, of which no person who is likely to have even the tempo- 
rary care of an invalid should be ignorant. The sick person is 
always in an unnatural condition of body, and, in a greater or 
less degree, of mind also. You have to think for him as well 
as to act for him. It is for you to prescribe what he should do, 
not for him to direct what you should do for him or he should 
do for himself. You must govern him — directly, if you can, 
indirectly, if you must. 

The appetite of an invalid is usually in a morbid condition, 
and to this you must be able to minister. It is not enough 
that you should know how to prepare the little delicacies fit for 
his use, you must know how to present them in a neat and at- 
tractive form, and at the proper moment. Sometimes the appe- 
tite is abnormally craving as to quantity or kind of food, but 
more frequently it is fastidious in both respects, or the very idea 
of any food is repulsive. A small portion of food, neatly served, 
and especially at an unexpected moment, will often be eagerly 
accepted when a larger quantity, coarsely served, would be invol- 
untarily rejected. Nothing more effectually defeats its own pur- 
pose than the persistent urging of food upon an invalid. Do 
not be perpetually reminding the invalid of his condition, even 
by the most tender inquiries as to how he is feeling. Of course 
you must sometimes make such inquiries, but the more they 
can be dispensed with the better. Your own observation will 
usually tell you better than he can how he really feels and has 
been feeling. 

There are circumstances in which silence in the sick-room, 
both on the part of the invalid and the attendant, is indispen- 
sable ; but this may be carried too far. Few things are more 
oppressive than the ostentatious — one may say noisy — inculca- 
tion of stillness. In the sick-room, as well as elsewhere, there is 
a time to speak and a time to keep silent. When you do speak, 
do so as nearly as you can in your natural voice and with your 
natural manner. Few sounds grate so harshly upon the abnor- 
mally quick ear of an invalid as the sharp, sibilant whisper which 
is thought by many the equivalent for speaking low. When you 



530 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



have occasion to move around the room, or to enter or leave it, 
walk softly, indeed, but without any apparent effort to do so. 
Do not go tiptoeing from place to place. You cannot be too 
careful in all these respects, but the perfection of care lies in 
the avoidance of all appearance of carefulness. 

The sick-room must at the best look like a sick-room, but it 
should look as little so as it can be made to do. The medicines 
should not be kept where the invalid can always be gazing upon 
them; his mind should be kept from them as much as possi- 
ble. When the time comes for administering them, they can 
be brought forth as though it were a matter of course that they 
are to be taken : the chances of any opposition or revulsion will 
thereby be greatly diminished. The less the invalid broods over 
his condition, or thinks upon what the physician and nurse are 
doing for him, the better are their chances of success. 



AMUSEMENTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 531 



CHAPTER XLI. 

AMUSEMENTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 

BY amusements we mean in general all those occupations 
which are carried on mainly for pastime ; those in which 
the labor is performed for the pleasure of doing it, rather than 
for the sake of any ulterior benefit to be derived from it. The 
same work may be an amusement to one person or at one time, 
and a labor to another. One man hunts or fishes for the sake 
of the game, and to him it is a labor; another does it for the 
sport, and to him it is play. Athletic games, from croquet and 
tennis to base-ball and cricket, are amusements to some ; but the 
" professionals " find them hard work — and, we presume, not very 
lucrative. But play within due bounds is as useful as work ; 
for one works all the better for having a proper amount of play. 

We hold, therefore, that amusements of all innocent kinds, at 
proper times, and not in excess, are among the most useful of 
employments. Men and women need, as well as wish, to be 
amused, just as really as they need to be fed and clothed and 
taught ; and they are as ready to remunerate those who provide 
them with amusements as to pay those who furnish them with 
food, clothing, and shelter. A list of those who have found op- 
portunities for success in catering for the amusement of the pub- 
lic would be a long one. 

The stage, dramatic and lyric, comes foremost in the catalogue 
of public amusements. Of this, and the opportunities which it 
presents, and the disadvantages to which it is exposed, we have 
already spoken at sufficient length. Of music, when practised 
as a profession, whether by way of teaching or of performing, we 
have also spoken. But something may here be added by way of 



532 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



suggestion to those who wish to derive pleasure and profit from 
this and other amusements, without making them a regular pro- 
fession. 

Every town, next after its school-houses and churches, should 
provide itself with a commodious hall for amusements, capable 
of accommodating as many persons as are likely to be assembled 
for such purposes ; it is better to have some room to spare than 
not to have quite enough. The town-hall, if built also with a 
view to such purposes, might, perhaps, suffice. At all events, 
there should be some such public hall, to be open to the public 
upon suitable conditions. It might be well that it should be 
open to hire on moderate terms for any unobjectionable enter- 
tainment — a concert, a lecture, a reading, or even an exhibition 
of ventriloquism or sleight of hand. Where there was upon any 
occasion a fee for admission, a rental should be charged. But 
the essential feature should be that of a free hall, open, at least 
upon certain evenings, for free entertainments, more especially 
for musical ones, which there should be no difficulty in providing, 
if a few public-spirited citizens would take the matter in hand. 

In every town where there is a considerable German element 
in the population there is certain to be abundant materials for 
forming musical associations, vocal or instrumental, or both ; and 
it is among the things upon which we have reason to congratu- 
late ourselves, that this Rhineland scion has been so largely 
grafted upon American stocks. Every such association would 
be more than willing to play or sing without pay on certain even- 
ings of the week, provided a hall fitted for the purpose, and 
properly lighted, and warmed when necessary, were provided. If 
there were an afternoon concert, say on Saturdays, so much the 
better. Now let the public-spirited citizens, whom we have pre- 
sumed to exist, provide the funds for defraying the small neces- 
sary expenses, and place the matter of arranging the successive 
programmes in the hands of a committee, and the work would 
be done. If there were such an entertainment every evening, 
it would probably be worse for the saloons, but all the better 
for the community. Many a young man betakes himself to 
the liquor-shop simply because he has nowhere else to go for 



AMUSEMENTS,* PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 533 



amusement in the evening. Many a family passes weary even- 
ings at home, not because the home itself is unpleasant, but be- 
cause it presents no variety. One evening, passed as has been 
suggested, would break up the monotony of the whole week. It 
needs but a small bit of leaven to lighten a great mass of what 
would otherwise be very heavy dough. One great problem of liv- 
ing is to make the home one to be contented in. One's town is 
in a wide sense his home. If this be a dull place he will always 
wish to get away from it. That life outside of our cities is apt 
to be dull is not to be denied ; and herein lies the chief cause 
of that craving for city life which pervades the country to an 
unhealthful extent. Make home cheerful and few persons will 
leave it for light reason. 

In many manufacturing towns the advantage of doing what 
has here been suggested has forced itself upon the attention of 
the far-seeing men who control the establishments without which 
these towns would have no existence. It is coming to be more 
and more common to do even more ; to establish a free library, 
reading-room, and sitting-rooms, open to all employees. Self-in- 
terest, as well as higher motives, prompts to this. It is for the 
interest of employers to be able to secure the best operatives, 
and to make sure of retaining them. It is for the interest of 
good operatives to stay in a place where the surroundings are 
pleasant, even though the wages are no higher than elsewhere. 
These manufacturing corporations can do this more efficiently 
and economically than the operatives could do it for themselves. 
The cost is really so much in addition to the nominal wages, and 
should be so regarded by both parties, and not in any sense as a 
gratuity. Those who enjoy the benefits of all this really pay for 
them. One of our prominent thread manufacturers was asked 
why his firm took so much care for the operatives in his mills in 
this respect. " Because they make so much better thread," was 
the reply. 

Very many of the corporations look to the social and domes- 
tic comfort of their operatives. They build boarding-houses, 
which they let at a low rent, and only to persons of approved 
character. These are built contiguous to the factories, and are 

29 



534 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



under as strict supervision as any other portion of the establish- 
ment, of which they are really a part. The following is extracted 
from the regulations of one of the largest New England manu- 
facturing corporations : 

" The tenements of this corporation are expressly for the accommodation of 
persons in its employ. They are not to be underlet by the tenant of the com- 
pany, nor are persons not employed by the corporation to board in them, except 
by special permission ; and males and females will not be allowed to board in 
the same house, except by permission given in writing by the agent. It is ex- 
pected that all children between the ages of twelve and fourteen, living in the 
company's houses, will be kept constantly at school. It will be strictly required 
that all who live in the houses shall be vaccinated, which may be done by a 
physician employed by the company, and at its expense. A suitable chamber 
for the sick must be reserved in each house ; and if any contagious disease is 
suspected, notice of it must be at once sent to the counting-room. The doors 
are to be closed at ten o'clock in the evening. Rude or disorderly conduct 
will at no time be permitted ; and the tenant will be held answerable for any 
such from visitors allowed to remain after the time of closing. 

" The tenants will, when required by the agent, give to him, in writing, so far 
as is within their knowledge, a correct account of the number, names, character, 
habits, and occupations of their boarders. They must send to the counting- 
room, on the first Monday of every month, a list of all the boarders they have 
taken, and of all who have left their houses during the preceding month, and 
must not discharge any boarder without first giving notice to the agent of their 
intention. If any person leave for the purpose of boarding off the corporation, 
immediate notice must be given at the counting-room. 

" Conformity to these regulations will be strictly exacted, and tenants will 
be held answerable for the observance of them on the part of their boarders. 
The tenements will be inspected once a month by the agent, to see that every- 
thing is kept in proper order, and in a manner satisfactory to the corporation." 

The regulations also contain strict provisions as to the daily 
ventilation of the houses, and for the cleanliness of every part of 
the premises. If the observance of these regulations be rigidly 
insisted upon by the agent of the corporation, who is its chief 
executive officer in every department, it will be impossible that 
disreputable occupations should be carried on, or disreputable 
persons find harbor within the corporate limits of these com- 
panies ; and for many purposes each of these corporation grounds 
is practically a city ward. The surveillance which the corpora- 
tion is thus enabled to exercise over every person in its employ- 



AMUSEMENTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 



535 



ment is of a kind and degree to which no law-abiding person 
can object. It is a power which every good citizen desires that 
his own municipal government should hold and exercise. The 
result is that in those manufacturing towns where this system 
prevails, the standard of morals among the factory operatives is 
exceptionally high, and compares favorably with that of the gen- 
eral community. 

Our great sea-side places of summer resort for pleasure bear, 
in some respects, a close analogy to these manufacturing towns. 
The ground is in almost every case under the control of the pro- 
prietors of the hotels and other establishments, and no disrepu- 
table business can be carried on to any great extent, or for any 
long time, without their sanction, or, at least, their connivance. 
If there is a gambling den, a swindling establishment, or a dis- 
orderly house of any kind, these men must know of it, and could 
easily repress it if they chose so to do. They own the buildings 
in which these misdemeanors are committed, or, at least, have 
the control of the ground upon which they stand ; and they could 
have the leases so framed that their premises should be vacated 
upon proof of any improper practice. They may not be able to 
prevent disorderly people from coming there, but they can, to a 
great extent, see to it that they behave themselves while there ; 
and such people are not fond of seeking pleasure where good 
order is enforced. 

Very much of the attractiveness of these places depends upon 
the nature of the amusements presented. People visit them 
mainly for relaxation, for a change from the daily routine of their 
lives. The amusements will therefore be mainly of a light char- 
acter. One will hardly go to Coney Island to attend a scientific 
lecture or a literary discourse ; to hear an oratorio or a sacred 
concert. Of course, there is nothing to be said against those 
places of resort where the religious element is made a predomi- 
nating feature. A camp-meeting by the sea-shore is an excellent 
thing, as far as it goes ; but it fails to meet some very proper re- 
quirements of the great mass of pleasure-seekers. 

The amusements at such places must be mainly such as can 
be enjoyed out of doors. Men do not leave the brick and mor- 



536 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



tar walls of the city to shut themselves up in wooden or iron 
walls, or even in a canvas tent, upon the sands of the beach. As 
it happens, the means of access to these sea-side resorts are main- 
ly in the hands of proprietors, who own also the railroads and 
steamboats running to them. The conveyance of passengers is 
one of the great items of profit ; and the amusements provided 
are chiefly for the sake of attracting passengers, and the cost of 
the amusements is really included in the price of the ticket for 
passage. 

Good music, especially that of a fine band, stands foremost 
among the amusements adapted to such places. It is, indeed, 
one of the very few out-door amusements in which a crowd 
can participate. An exhibition of fire -works is coming to 
be a necessary part of sea -side attractions. Music, as such, 
stands almost alone in this — that it refuses to be a medium 
for the conveyance of low and ignoble thought. The purest 
tones of the voice, or notes of the instrument, may be made to 
express impure thoughts by forcing them into union with filthy 
words or obscene gestures ; and the tune, when sung or played, 
may suggest those base ideas. But that is an abuse to which 
all good things are liable. A pen-knife is not a bad thing be- 
cause it may be made an instrument of murder. It is always 
possible to steal the livery of heaven to serve the devil in. Mu- 
sic may, perhaps, not always be positively ennobling, but it is 
never of itself debasing. A musical entertainment, moreover, 
presents little opportunity for gambling. Men will bet untold 
sums upon a half-second's time in the speed of a race-horse ; but 
one never hears of a wager whether the voice of a singer will 
touch a certain difficult note. 

There can be no doubt that many of the amusements almost 
universally concomitant with our pleasure resorts are highly ob- 
jectionable ; and it may be a matter of question whether the evils 
connected with these places, as they are at present conducted, do 
not outweigh their benefits. But it is a cheering circumstance 
that the popularity of these resorts, especially of those close by 
large cities, is very nearly in the ratio of the quality of the public 
amusements provided ; notably, of the free musical entertain- 




LOST LENORE. 
See Note 40. 



AMUSEMENTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 



539 



ments. That which is really good is a leading attraction for 
visitors. It pays well to provide a good band ; and it pays best 
where the best band is provided. Taken in its broadest accep- 
tation, the question of amusements is one which should enter 
very much into consideration in the choice of a home. The an- 
cient Romans, not altogether unwisely, placed " bread and the 
games " side by side as things to be looked after. If we were to 
rank things in the order of their importance, we should say that 
a community should be well-taught, well-fed, well-housed, well- 
clothed, well-amused, and well-governed. 

Variety is the very essence of all recreation ; and recreation 
is actually, what it is etymologically, a " re-creation," a giving of 
new life. Anything pursued unintermittingly becomes weari- 
some, no matter how pleasant in itself. If the conditions of the 
life hereafter are at all like those of the life here, we imagine that 
the spirits of the redeemed will have an endless variety of celes- 
tial joys. All innocent amusements are to be cherished in their 
due place and degree. Some of them, at least, should be such 
that persons of all ages and both sexes can participate in them 
together. The home which is stratified into three separate lay- 
ers, parents, grown-up sons and daughters, and children, is not 
the ideal one. They should melt into each other in their occu- 
pations and amusements. Out-door recreations are still a desid- 
eratum for most American women and many American men. 
Croquet, lawn-tennis, quoits, and the like, are excellent ; archery 
is admirable, and there is no reason why a woman should not be 
a good pistol-shot. Social home games should not be over- 
looked. The man who invented backgammon or checkers or 
chess was a benefactor to the human race. The inventor of 
many a toy or game has reaped well-earned wealth ; and there is 
yet room for more such. 

Many persons labor too much. Not that they accomplish 
too much work, but that they are engaged too many hours upon 
a stretch. The weekly Sabbath — viewed merely as a day of rest, 
and quite irrespective of its spiritual relations — is a profitable 
institution. We should have some hours of rest and recreation 
at the close of each day. Daylight, in our latitude, at most 



540 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



seasons of the year, is more than enough for doing all that any 
one should regularly perform. When men had little more than 
their hands with which to accomplish their daily tasks, a longer 
period was needed to produce what was required for sustenance 
and comfort. ^ By the aid of machinery and implements not only 
is the possible product of labor indefinitely increased, but the time 
is greatly diminished. It has been estimated that, had we only 
the spinning-wheel and hand-loom of our fathers, it would re- 
quire sixteen millions of people to produce the cotton cloth con- 
sumed in the United States, which is actually spun and woven 
by one hundred and sixty thousand. That is, one person, with 
our present spinning and weaving machinery, does as much work 
as one hundred could do with the implements in use less than a 
century ago. But the spinning-wheel and hand-loom are ma- 
chinery quite effective when compared with the distaff and loom 
of savage tribes. If they had only these, all the working popu- 
lation of the country could not make enough cloth to clothe us 
as we are now clothed. Savage nations must mainly clothe 
themselves with the skins of wild beasts or go naked or half- 
naked. The same holds good in a greater or less degree in 
agriculture, mining, fishing, and almost every industrial voca- 
tion. In all of them machinery must inevitably produce great 
changes in the modes and conditions of our daily life. There is 
no probability that these changes will be less in the next than 
they have been in the last half century. There is no certainty 
that the application of machinery has reached its limit in any 
direction ; it is certain that it has not in most directions. 

The bearing of all this upon the subject of Amusements is 
evident. If, through the introduction of labor-saving machinery, 
all the necessities, comforts, and conveniences of life can be pro- 
duced by fewer hours of labor than they now are, then working 
men and women should have more hours which they can devote 
to recreation. It is useless to talk of providing amusements 
and recreation for men and women who have, and can have, no 
time to enjoy them, no matter how much they may need them. 

If the increasing adaptation of labor-saving machinery into 
every department of industry has had, and must continue to have 



AMUSEMENTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 



541 



— as is maintained by some — the effect to depress the condition 
of the laboring classes, who must always constitute the majority 
of the community, then we are forced to the conclusion that it 
is a public evil of a magnitude which cannot be overstated. 

This general subject has been touched upon incidentally in 
various places in this volume. It is proposed to consider this 
question more specifically in the next chapter. 



542 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

LABOR-SAVING MACHINERY AND WORKING MEN. 

IN considering the influence of labor-saving machinery upon 
the past, present, and future condition of those who must 
always constitute the great majority of the community — and who 
are, in fact, the community — it must in the very outset be ad- 
mitted that the use of machinery to displace manual labor does, 
in many cases, act unfavorably upon individuals. The artisan or 
operative who is even temporarily thrown out of work by a 
machine is in most cases injured thereby. Sometimes the in- 
jury is compensated by the increased demand for his produc- 
tions, occasioned by the greater cheapness. As before noted, 
there are more printers than there would have been if no other 
than hand-presses had been invented. In the printing of books 
there are more persons employed than there would have been 
in the copying of them, had there been only scribes to multiply 
copies. But the cases are numerous where there is no such 
compensation. There are, for example, fewer nail -makers re- 
quired than there would have been if nails were made only by 
hand, and one or two hundred nails was a good day's work. 

But, taking a comprehensive view of the whole question, 
there is in our mind no doubt as to the general conclusion to 
which we must come : Machinery — taking the word in its wid- 
est signification, so as to include the most complex as well as 
the simplest kinds of labor-saving implements — adds largely to 
the sum of human comfort and therefore of human well-being, 
however much its introduction may temporarily injure a few in- 
dividuals. Those workmen, indeed, who are, on the one hand, 
injured by being brought into direct competition with machinery, 



LABOR-SAVING MACHINERY AND WORKING MEN. 543 



are, on the other hand, benefited by its competition with others. 
Every workman buys what he needs at a lower rate than he 
could have done had not its production been made more easy, 
and therefore cheaper, by machinery. 

Nothing which grows or is produced is of any value to man 
unless it can be in some way used — that is, consumed — either at 
once or hereafter. If in some South Sea island there are more 
plantains or cocoanuts spontaneously growing than can be 
eaten, the overplus is worthless ; if — of which there is no likeli- 
hood — the world should come to raise more wheat or corn than 
it can consume, the surplus must rot on the fields or in the 
barns ; if the cotton crop is twice as much as can be sold, one 
half of it would be worth just as much as the whole ; should we 
weave more cloth than can be worn, the excess represents just 
so much labor thrown away ; and, as the possible limit of con- 
sumption is being reached, the production will slacken or cease 
altogether, until the balance between supply and demand is re- 
stored. But what would be an overplus at one time may be a 
deficiency at one not very far distant. It is not quite four cen- 
turies since the greatest book - printers in Rome complained 
bitterly that they had accumulated some twenty thousand copies 
of their publications, and were on the point of ruin because 
there were no more purchasers. Guttenberg's first edition of the 
Bible consisted of only a few hundred copies, and it glutted the 
book-market of all Europe for years. Here is one of the innu- 
merable instances in which the possible supply has actually 
created the existing demand. 

The case is just this: We are constantly producing more 
and more, in proportion to population ; everything that is pro- 
duced is in the long run consumed, that is, put to use, or thrown 
away as useless ; increased consumption implies increased com- 
fort. Therefore the people, in the mass, are, with us at least, bet- 
ter off than they were. We are, as elsewhere stated, better fed, 
better housed, and better clothed than our fathers were ; and if 
we are not also better taught and better governed, the fault is 
our own. We have in that case neglected to avail ourselves of 
our opportunities. All this is owing, in a great measure, to the 



544 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



increased use tof machinery in manifold industries. Considered 
from the industrial point of view, the benefits derived from 
labor-saving machines may be thus summed up : The benefits 
arise from the addition which they make to human power; the 
economy which they produce of human time ; and the conver- 
sion of many substances, otherwise worthless, into products which 
minister to human comfort and well-being. 

If we, in imagination, put ourselves back into the times before 
the general application of labor-saving machines to our great in- 
dustries, we shall be able, in a measure, to apprehend what we 
should lose by their even partial abandonment. How many of 
the things which we have come to regard as absolute necessaries 
of life could we have had without machinery to produce them ? 

There are, indeed, few people who would, in this respect, be 
willing to go very far back in any one direction — to be obliged 
to use the tinder-box and flint instead of lucifer matches ; to fall 
back upon pine-knots and tallow-dips in place of kerosene lamps 
and stearine candles ; to replace gas by whale-oil ; to wear linsey- 
woolsey and homespun linen instead of broadcloth and muslin ; 
to give up steel-pens, and go back to quills. But there always 
have been, and we suppose there always will be, those who in 
respect to their own immediate vocations would have the world 
stand still. They have adjusted themselves in some tolerable 
degree to things as they have shaped themselves, and do not 
wish to be disturbed, although they are quite content that the 
rest of the world should be discommoded by being brought 
into competition with labor-saving machines. The British farm 
laborers did not wish to go back to the hoe and pointed stick in- 
stead of using the deep-cutting plough ; but they set themselves 
against cultivators and reaping-machines. The carriers did not 
wish to abandon their vans, and go back to pack-horses ; but ob- 
jurgated against railroads. The spinners and weavers were 
quite willing that the foot-wheel and hand-loom should keep the 
place from which they had driven the distaff and treadle ; but 
they broke up Arkwright's spinning -frames and Jacquard's 
power-loom. The London printers, who had learned to work 
Applegate's power-press, did not wish to go back to Stanhope's 



LABOR-SAVING MACHINERY AND WORKING MEN. 545 



hand-press ; but when the Times introduced the steam-press, the 
premises had to be guarded by the military. 

But it may be assumed that no effort will be permanently 
successful which aims to prevent the introduction of labor-sav- 
ing machinery in any case where it can do its work better or 
cheaper than it can be clone by hand. If the machine is stronger 
or more skilful than the workman it will inevitably supplant 
him, just in the degree that it is so. If watches can be made 
more economically by machinery than by hand, they will be thus 
made ; because, when a man purchases a watch, or anything else, 
he buys it where he can do so for the least money. But skil- 
ful as the machine may be, there are yet things which require a 
kind or degree of skill which it does not possess. The highest 
and the rarest skill in any department of industry is that which 
is always best* paid. The workman who can do something 
which is beyond the skill of the machine is not brought into 
competition with it ; and therefore his wages are increased rather 
than lowered by the machinery ; for he in so far supplants the 
machine, instead of the machine supplanting him. Hence we 
confidently affirm, as the result of all experience as to the rela- 
tions between skilled human labor and labor-saving, machinery, 
that, all things taken into account, the result of the most intelli- 
gent application of machinery to most branches of industry is a 
large increase of production coupled with comparatively high 
wages to the skilled workman, provided that the educated skill of 
the workman keeps pace with the improvements in the machinery \ 
but not otherwise. 

The machine will supplant the man if it can ; and it can do 
so only by doing the work more cheaply. The workman can 
succeed in the contest only by keeping ahead of the machine in 
skill. It must, moreover, be borne in mind that skill is a com- 
parative term, not an absolute one. A man who would have 
ranked as a very skilful workman or artist a dozen years ago, 
would be at best considered to-day as a moderately skilled 
one. Look, for example, at the very best specimens of wood- 
engraving produced twelve years ago, and compare them with 
those presented in this volume. The human worker has indi- 



546 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



vidually two advantages over the machine. He can keep on 
increasing his capability, while the individual machine is almost 
stationary ; to make any essential improvement in it is to make 
a substantially new machine. Moreover, the machine can do 
only the specific kind of work for which it was designed. The 
drill-planter cannot reap, or the reaping-machine plant; while the 
agricultural laborer can plant and reap, and do a hundred things, 
each of which would require a separate machine, and many of 
which can never be done by a machine. 

In making choice of an occupation, it stands one in hand to 
consider whether it is one in which he is likely to be driven out 
by machinery, for such a probability is a serious drawback. A 
wise man will not be contented with the ability to do a single 
thing, no matter how well he may do it. The farmer who con- 
fines himself to a single crop runs no little risk ; if it fails, he 
is ruined ; but it is not likely that all crops will fail in any one 
season. Let him have something to fall back upon in case his 
main crop fails. So of the craftsman. It will necessarily take 
much of his attention to perfect himself in the vocation which 
he has adopted. But no one occupation, however earnestly it be 
followed, brings all the powers of a sound man into exercise. 
There may, indeed, be now and then a " Blind Tom," who can 
do some one thing admirably, and can do nothing else ; but no 
wise man will try to develop himself into any sort of a Blind 
Tom. The cases are rare in which a man will do any one thing 
the better just because it is the only thing he knows how to do. 
In a practical point of view, the man who can in case of need 
turn his hand and brain to several purposes has a great advan- 
tage when compared with him who must do one thing or do 
nothing at all. He has more than one string to his bow, more 
than one barrel to his rifle. There are, of course, limitations in 
this direction ; for, while most men can learn to do several things, 
often quite different, very well, few men can have time to learn 
to do very many things, and no man can learn how to do every- 
thing. 

The great problem of success in life is to be able to avail 
one's self of opportunities — opportunities, not only to seize a 



LABOR-SAVING MACHINERY AND WORKING MEN. 549 



desirable position, but quite as often to escape from an undesi- 
rable one. One must not forget that the occupation which is a 
profitable one to-day may become an unprofitable one hereafter. 
The stanchest ship may encounter an iceberg, or be struck by a 
cyclone. It is well to have a life-boat in case of emergencies, 
even though there may never happen to be occasion to launch it. 

The bearings of the competition between labor-saving ma- 
chines and unskilled labor involve some further consideration. 
If machinery could not be used in ploughing and mowing, 
digging and lifting, and the like, there would not be men 
enough in our generation to do the work which is actually 
accomplished. Our railroads, for example, could not be con- 
structed at anything like their present rate by mere manual 
labor. It is clear, however, that the wages paid for this class 
of labor is higher than it was at former times. There are not 
at hand adequate statistics, except for agricultural employees. 
These, as given in a preceding chapter, show a continual in- 
crease, except when there have been retrogressions at times of 
general financial depression ; and agricultural labor may be pre- 
sumed to be a fair type in this respect. If a man can earn 
more money by w r orking on a railroad than on a farm, he will 
seek that employment, and vice versa. 

But this book is designed for those who are in search of op- 
portunities for success in life ; and the man who remains in the 
position of an unskilled laborer has not attained that measure of 
success which we have in view. That, surely, is not the con- 
dition of life in which any man should pray to be contented, 
either for himself or his family. The first thing for one to do 
who finds himself in this condition is to escape from it if he 
can. The figures given in the chapter on agricultural laborers 
evince that, by industry, economy, and prudence, a young man 
may, in a few years, accumulate sufficient capital to enable him 
to own his own farm, and so make a new start in life with 
ample opportunities before him for further success. And what 
is possible for the agricultural laborer is not impossible for 
many other unskilled laborers, although the obstacles are greater 
and the opportunities fewer. One circumstance to be taken 



550 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



into consideration is this : the agricultural laborer, while work- 
ing as such, is practically learning his future profession of 
farmer ; while most other laborers, as such, learn only to do 
the thing which they are about. The hod-carrier learns only 
to carry his load ; the street-sweeper only to handle his broom. 

This brings us back to a subject to urge which has been a 
leading purpose throughout this whole volume : the importance 
of a more useful, and therefore a higher, education -than has hith- 
erto been secured by our institutions of learning. The ques- 
tion was asked of a wise man of old : " What should a boy be 
taught ?" The answer was : " That which will be useful to him 
when he becomes a man." We grant that there is an apparent 
deficiency in this, for there are things useful to a boy, as such, 
which will not be useful to him when he becomes a man. The 
person who has learned to swim throws away his cork float or 
swimming-bladder. But the deficiency in statement is more ap- 
parent than real. That which has been useful to the boy, as 
such, is useful to him when he comes to be a man. Whatever 
has made him a better or a happier boy tends to make him a hap- 
pier and a better man, and it was wise to instruct him therein. 
But it is a grave question how much that is taught in our 
schools, with such infinite trouble to teacher and pupil, is of any 
real use to boy or man ? How much of it is thrown away, not 
because it has fulfilled its uses, but because it never had any use 
at all ? And the worst of this is that all this useless instruction 
takes up the time which should have been devoted to better pur- 
poses. 

And again, as no man can learn everything worth learning, it 
is folly that everybody should study the same thing. It is quite 
necessary that there should be men who can repair a watch ; but 
it by no means follows that every boy should learn the trade of 
watch-maker. It is quite desirable that there should be a few 
men who can read Cicero and Virgil ; but it does not follow that 
every boy should spend half the years of his pupilage in master- 
ing the Latin Grammar. 

There is an altogether groundless apprehension in some 
minds that the masses of the people will become too highly edu- 



LABOR-SAVING MACHINERY AND WORKING MEN. 551 



cated. A common expression of this apprehension is : " They 
will get to be above their business. " That is, if common people 
learn too much there will be nobody left to perform the common 
work of life. Society will develop into the condition of an army 
in which all are officers, with no privates under their command. 
We think that there is no danger likely to arise in this direction. 
Do the best we may, there will always be enough, and more than 
enough, of men and women who have not the ability to fill any 
other than the lowest positions. The crowding is at the bottom, 
not at the head of the stairway. The more that labor-saving ma- 
chines enable human beings to impress the forces of inanimate 
nature into their service in doing the harder work of life, the 
more scope will there be for the exercise of the educated powers 
of our being. Towards this end we believe that humanity is 
tending under the wise government of the Creator. And in ac- 
tive obedience to his law and rule lie the World's Opportunities 
for advancement and success. 



552 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

HEALTH AND MORTALITY. 

IN Great Britain and some other countries there is a system 
of registration by which the annual number of deaths is 
ascertained with a close approximation to accuracy. In the 
United States there is, unfortunately, no such system, except in 
about four States and in some of the larger cities. For the re- 
mainder of the country the number of deaths, as returned by 
Census enumerators, has always been much below the true 
number. In i860 the number thus reported was 12.5 to every 
1000 of the population; in 1870, as 12.8 to the 1000; in 1880 
the number reported was 756,893, or 15.1 to every 1000 of the 
population. " But this," says the Superintendent of the Census, 
" does not indicate any actual increase in the number of deaths 
as compared with the population ; it shows, rather, that the 
efforts made in the Census of 1880 to obtain more complete 
returns of deaths than had been collected in previous enumer- 
ations have been to some extent successful." 

As, however, there could be no doubt that the enumeration 
of 1880 was yet defective, an effort was made to remedy the 
defect. The effort was thorough and exhaustive, and there is 
every reason to believe that a close approximation to the truth 
has been attained. The result, partly by estimate, is that the 
number of deaths in the United States, during the Census year 
1880, instead of the 756,893 reported by the enumerators, was 
914,442, being 18.2 deaths to every 1000 of the population. 
" The actual mortality for the whole country during that year," 
says the superintendent, " was not less than 17 nor greater than 
19 per 1000 of the population. This rate compares favorably 



THE GHOST IN "HAMLET. 
See Note 42. 



HEALTH AND MORTALITY. 



555 



with that of other civilized countries. The death-rate for the 
whole of England during that year was 20.5 per 1000; for Scot- 
land, in 1878, it was 21.3 per 1000." He considers that "the 
low death-rate in this country is due to the comparative absence 
of overcrowding, and to the more general and equable distribu- 
tion of the means of supporting life, including, especially, the 
abundant food-supply of good quality for all classes of people." 

In all the statements which follow the figures are those given 
in the Census enumeration, not as they would have been in the 
corrected statement of the Bureau, where, w T hen absolute num- 
bers are concerned, they would have been greater by a little 
more than one-fifth (21.6 per cent). In all such cases sufficient 
accuracy will be attained by adding one-fifth to the numbers 
as given. Thus, the number of deaths by consumption is put 
down at 91,551 ; add one-fifth, and the result will be 109,861 — a 
close approximation to the actual number; and so of the other 
diseases enumerated. But as in most cases the figures given 
are comparative, showing the relations of various causes of death 
to sex, age, and locality, the value of the conclusions drawn from 
them will be only slightly affected by the deficiencies referred 
to. Thus, when it is stated that of every 1000 deaths 87.57 
were between the ages of five and fifteen, 299.66 were between 
fifteen and sixty, it is of no consequence what were the abso- 
lute number of deaths, for the proportion is the same, what- 
ever may have been the actual number. In the few instances 
where misapprehension would arise, the number given in the 
Census enumeration is followed by the correction enclosed in 
brackets. Thus, " the mortality of the white population was 
14.74 [17.69], and that of the colored population 17.28 [20.75], 
that of the entire population being 15.1 [18.2] per 1000." 

Of the 756,893 enumerated deaths 23,053 are unaccounted 
for, leaving 733,840 the causes of which are assigned. Of 
these there were 35,932 deaths from accidents and injuries of 
all sorts (including homicides and suicides), so that the en- 
tire reported deaths from all ascertained diseases was 697,898. 
The number who died from eleven of the principal forms of 
disease was as follows: Consumption, 91,551 ; diphtheria, 38,398; 

30 



556 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



enteric (typhoid) fever, 22,905; malarial fevers, 20,261; scarlet 
fever, 16,416; whooping-cough, 11,202 ; measles, 8872 ; diarrhceal 
diseases, 65,565 ; diseases of the digestive system, 34,094; of the 
nervous system, 83,670; of the respiratory system, 107,994 — in 
all 500,728, or 72 per cent, of all the deaths from disease, leav- 
ing 197,162, or 28 per cent, from all other forms. By adding 
one-fifth to each of these numbers the actual number of deaths 
from any of these causes will be approximately ascertained, but 
their relative proportions — which is the main point under con- 
sideration — will not be changed. 

The death-rate is very sensibly affected by numerous special 
circumstances, among which are color, sex, age, locality, and 
climate, which will be considered in their order. 

Color. — The death-rate is considerably higher among the 
colored than the white population. Taking the whole together, 
it is 15. 1 [18.2] deaths to 1000 of population : among the whites 
it is 14.74 [17.69]; among the blacks, 17.28 [20.74] to the 1000. 
This difference is especially observable in those States in which 
the proportion of colored population is the largest. In the judg- 
ment of the Census Bureau " this difference is largely due to 
the relatively great number of deaths among infants in the col- 
ored population." 

Sex. — The death-rate among males is decidedly higher than 
among females. In males it is 15.35 [^.42], and in females, 
14.81 [17.77] to 1000 of population; or, for every 1000 females 
who died there were 1074 males, according to the returns of the 
Census. The Census Bureau, while giving these numbers, adds, 
without assigning its reasons : " It should be borne in mind, 
however, that the proportion of female to male deaths is some- 
what greater than these figures would indicate." The dispro- 
portion between the male and female death-rates, as returned, is 
very notable in the case of children. The Report says : " The 
proportion of male deaths of those under five years to all the 
male deaths recorded was 419.51 per 1000; the proportion of 
female deaths of this age was 381.85 per 1000." No reason is 
assigned why the male deaths of young children should thus ex- 
ceed the female deaths by 37.66 in 1000, or nearly 4 per cent. 



HEALTH AND MORTALITY. 



557 



Age.- — The respective ages at which the deaths occurred 
were as follows : 

Five years and under 44-Q-37 in 1000 

Between five and fifteen years 87.57 " 

Between fifteen and sixty years 299.66 " 

Over sixty years 172.40 " 

1000.00 

It thus appears that a little more than 44 per cent, of the deaths 
occur before the individuals have completed the fifth year of 
their age, and fully one-half of these die during their first year. 

Locality. — The corrected average death-rate — that is, the ra- 
tio of the number of deaths to each 1000 of the population — as 
compared with that of other countries, shows that the climate of 
the Union, as a whole, is salubrious. There are, however, some 
portions in which, at certain seasons, at least, it is comparatively 
unhealthy; but no very large districts are positively and per- 
manently pestilential. The Census Report gives for each State 
the number of deaths returned as having occurred during the 
Census year, and, by comparing these with the number of the 
population, the actual death - rate could have been positively 
ascertained had all the deaths been enumerated ; but, as has 
already been said, this enumeration is manifestly imperfect. 
Still, even these defective data are of much value for purposes 
of comparison. As given in the Report, the number of deaths 
to each 1000 of the population of respective States was as fol- 
lows : 

Alabama, 14.20 j Arizona, 7.3; Arkansas, 18.4; California, 13.3; Colorado, 
13. 1 ; Connecticut, 14.5 ; Dakota, 9.6 ; Delaware, 15. 1 ; District of Columbia, 
23.4; Florida, 20.5 ; Georgia, 14.0; Idaho, 9.8 ; Illinois, 14.5 ; Indiana, 15.6 ; 
Iowa, 11. 9; Kansas, 15.2; Kentucky, 14.4; Louisiana, 15.4; Maine, 14.7; 
Maryland, 18.0; Massachusetts, 18.7; Michigan, 12. 1 ; Minnesota, 11. 6; Mis- 
sissippi, 13.0; Missouri, 17.0; Montana, 8.6; Nebraska, 13. 1 ; Nevada, 11.7; 
New Hampshire, 16.0 ; New Jersey, 16.3 ; New Mexico, 20.0; New York, 17.4 ; 
North Carolina, 15.0 ; Ohio, 13.3 ; Oregon, 10.7 ; Pennsylvania, 16.0 ; Rhode 
Island, 17.0; South Carolina, 15.8; Tennessee, 16.8; Texas, 15.5; Utah, 16.7; 
Vermont, 15.1; Virginia, 16.3; Washington, 10.1 ; West Virginia, 12.0; Wis- 
consin, 12.2 ; W T yoming, 9.0. 



558 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



The population of the Union being 50,155,783, and the num- 
ber of reported deaths 756,893, the average death-rate was 15.1. 
In sixteen States the number does not vary from this by more 
than 1 in 1000 either way; in thirteen States it exceeds this 
proportion, and in eighteen States it is less. Some of these 
variations admit of easy explanation : The high death-rate in 
Florida is owing to the fact that this State has become a resort 
for invalids, many of whom die there instead of at their homes ; 
and the population of the State being small, a comparative few 
of these foreign deaths considerably affects the death-rate. The 
high reported death-rate of New York is caused partly from the 
fact of the city being the landing-place of the greater part of 
the emigrants from abroad, the sick remaining and dying there. 
In the States in which the colored population is comparatively 
large, the proportion of unreported deaths is doubtless unusually 
large, rendering the death-rate apparently smaller than it actu- 
ally is. 

The most noticeable deviations from the average occur in 
the newly settled and sparsely peopled States and Territories, in 
some of which the death-rate is less than two-thirds of the aver- 
age. This is to be explained mainly by the fact that the immi- 
grants, who form the bulk of the population, are generally men 
in the vigor of manhood ; it does not, therefore, indicate of itself 
that the climate is unusually favorable to health. It may, more- 
over, be laid down as a general rule that to attain completeness 
in such statistics is much more difficult in a thinly settled region 
than in one more densely peopled. All these considerations 
should be taken into account when estimating the comparative 
healthfulness of any State from these mortuary statistics. It is 
not to be assumed that the climate of Arizona or Dakota is 
more genial than that of Delaware or Vermont, because the 
death-rates are not half as high. 

It should also be borne in mind that the various conditions 
of climate often vary greatly in different portions of the same 
State. In New York the climate is very different in the Adi- 
rondacks, upon the shores of great lakes, and upon the banks of 
the Hudson. What would be true of one part of Virginia or 



HEALTH AND MORTALITY. 



559 



California or Texas, would be quite untrue of other parts — and 
so, to a greater or less degree, of nearly every State or Territory. 
The nature of the surface, and the proximity to or distance from 
the ocean, are important ; mere State lines are in this respect 
of no consequence, except as they indicate geographical posi- 
tion. 

For the purposes now under consideration, the Census Re- 
port divides the entire Union into twenty-one " Grand Groups," 
quite irrespective of State boundaries. Three of these groups, 
composed of portions of some half a dozen States, present 
marked distinctive features, especially in regard to the more 
prevalent diseases, and are treated w T ith some detail : 

The North Atlantic Group comprises Rhode Island, and the 
portions of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hamp- 
shire bordering upon the ocean. The population of this group 
was 2,617,210, the deaths 45,358 — being 17.3 to 1000. The 
deaths from consumption were 16.5 per cent, of the whole; 
from diphtheria, 5.3 per cent.; from enteric fever, 1.9 per cent.; 
from malarial fevers, .04 per cent. 

The Great Lake Group comprises those counties of Illinois, 
Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin border- 
ing upon the great lakes. The population of the group was 
3,049,412, the deaths 43,578 — being 14.2 to 1000. The deaths 
from consumption were 13.0 per cent, of the whole; from diph- 
theria, 8.1 per cent.; from enteric fever, 2.2 per cent.; from 
malarial fevers, 9.7 per cent. 

The Gulf Coast Group comprises Florida and those counties 
of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas bordering imme- 
diately upon the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this group 
was 1,056,124, the deaths 16,124 — being 15.3 to 1000. The 
deaths from diphtheria were 1.2 per cent, of the whole; from 
enteric fever, 2 per cent. ; from malarial fevers, 6.6 per cent. Con- 
sumption, in this group, also causes more deaths than any other 
disease — the deaths being 11.8 per cent, of the whole. In New 
Orleans, which is in this district, the ratio of deaths from this 
disease is higher than in the Northern cities — being 15.2 per 
cent, of the whole — while in the remainder of the group it is 9.8 



560 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



per cent. This prevalence of consumption in New Orleans " is 
probably due to the fact that the city is not sewered or drained, 
and has the soil-water very near the surface." 

It is doubtless true, as appears from the foregoing, that the 
death-rate in the northern region bordering upon the Atlantic is 
considerably higher than the average for the whole Union, and 
higher than in most other sections ; but the disparity is some- 
what less than these figures would indicate, for the population 
here is more congregated in towns and cities, so that the num- 
ber of deaths returned by the Census enumerators approximates 
somewhat more nearly than elsewhere to the true number. 
This section is decidedly unfavorable to persons with con- 
sumptive tendencies. Consumption is decidedly more preva- 
lent among females than among males — the number of males re- 
ported as having died from this disease in all the States being 
40,619; of females, 50,932. 

The climate of the region bordering upon the great lakes is 
decidedly favorable to human life, as is shown by the death-rate 
above given. 

The portions of the Southern States lying upon the Gulf of 
Mexico, from characteristics of the population, present unusual 
difficulties to ascertaining the actual number of deaths. The 
real death-rate is undoubtedly somewhat higher, compared with 
other sections, than is indicated in the Census returns, and is, 
perhaps, not less than that of the North Atlantic group. 

In regard to the comparative healthfulness of cities, the Cen- 
sus Report says : " The figures show that neither diphtheria, en- 
teric fever, nor consumption are especially the diseases of large 
cities. They appear to be the more prevalent in the small towns 
and rural districts which have no general water supply or sys- 
tems of sewerage, but obtain their water from springs and wells, 
and observe the usual custom of storing excreta in cesspools or 
vaults ;" and, as above noted, the exceptional prevalence of con- 
sumption in New Orleans is attributed to the lack of drainage 
and sewerage. In large cities, where there is a system of regis- 
tration of deaths and burials, the death-rate will be apparently 
higher than elsewhere, because in them every case of mortality 



HEALTH AND MORTALITY. 



563 



is ascertained and recorded, while elsewhere many deaths occur 
which are not recorded at all. It is estimated that " in the Cen- 
sus of 1S70 there were 41 per cent, of the deaths occurring dur- 
ing the Census year which escaped record ;" and, in spite of the 
greater attempts at accuracy, it is estimated that the omissions 
ranged from 13 per cent, in Massachusetts and 20 per cent, in 
Xew Jersey to 30 per cent, in some other States. The Super- 
intendent of the Census says, emphatically, " The United States 
are at a marked disadvantage in comparison with almost any 
other civilized nation in the matter of vital statistics. We know 
not the number of persons born or dying in any year of our 
political history/' We know, indeed, that the number of births 
must largely exceed the number of deaths, because the net in- 
crease of population exceeds by far the total number added to 
it by emigration from other countries. Leaving immigration 
out of view, the total increase of population must be just the 
excess of births over deaths. 

This subject has been treated at length because the consid- 
eration of health should be paramount. What advantage is 
gained if in securing wealth the time for its enjoyment is ma- 
terially shortened ? What chance will a broken-down man have 
in his efforts to succeed in life ? 



564 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 



CLIMATE, TEMPERATURE, AND RAINFALL. 



HE adaptation of any region for human habitation depends 



JL mainly upon its climate, by which is to be understood the 
conditions of the atmosphere in regard to heat and cold, dryness 
and moisture, for these chiefly determine the character of the 
animal life and vegetable productions of any region. The United 
States lie wholly within the temperate zone ; but so nearly do 
they approach the tropics on the south and the Arctic circle on 
the north that the range of temperature is very great. The 
healthfulness of any region is also very much determined by its 
climate. There is no considerable part of the United States 
which can be regarded as positively insalubrious ; but each 
section has some classes of diseases more especially incident 
to it. Persons afflicted with or predisposed to one class of dis- 
eases will find some districts more favorable to their health 
than others, while these same districts would be less favora- 
ble for persons differently affected, or having different constitu- 
tions or habits. 

Temperature. — The heat or cold of any place depends upon 
its distance from the equator more than upon any one other 
thing; but there are numerous modifying influences. Elevation 
above the level of the sea is one of these. Thus the line of per- 
petual snow within the tropics is at an elevation of from 15,000 
to 19,000 feet, sinking gradually towards the poles, until it 
touches the sea-level in the Northern Hemisphere in about lat- 
itude 78 . Within the temperate zones 300 feet in elevation is 
reckoned to be equal to i° of temperature. The temperature of 
a place is much affected by its position in regard to the ocean 




CLIMATE, TEMPERATURE, AND RAINFALL. 565 



or other large bodies of water, by the nature of the soil, and by 
the presence or absence of forests, or even of vegetation. 

The effect of this latter cause, however, does not consist so 
much in modifying the general temperature of the whole twenty- 
four hours, as in affecting its distribution between the day and 
night. The greatest extremes of diurnal heat and cold are ob- 
served in bare, sandy deserts, where a day of intense heat is 
often followed by a night uncomfortably cold. The influence 
of forests is directly the reverse. They sensibly lower the tem- 
perature during the day, and raise it during the night. Hence 
the essential difference between the climates of two regions, 
where the absolute amount of heat is the same, but one of them 
is covered with vegetation while the other is bare, lies in this, 
that the heat of the day is more equally distributed over the en- 
tire four-and-twenty hours in the former case, and is, therefore, 
less intense during the hottest part of the day. Close observa- 
tion evinces the same thing upon a smaller scale. During the 
warm months of the year the temperature is sensibly lower in 
a patch of woodland than in the open fields outside of it, and 
there is consequently a slow but steady outflow of air from the 
forest ; but the reverse happens during the night, when the tem- 
perature of the forest is higher than that of the open country, 
and there is consequently a perceptible inflow of air into the 
forest. The relations between forests and economic considera- 
tions are fully treated in another chapter. 

There is a very marked difference between the temperature 
of the Eastern and Western Continents within the same lati- 
tudes and at the same elevation. On the Atlantic shores of the 
continents the difference in mean temperature is equivalent to 
about seven degrees of latitude, equal to nearly 500 statute miles. 
The isothermal line of 59 traverses the parallel of 42 in Eu- 
rope, but sinks to that of 35 in America. Rome and Boston 
are in nearly the same latitude (about 42 ) ; but the climate of 
Rome corresponds to that of Beaufort, N. C, in latitude 34 41', 

Of more importance to us is the marked difference in the 
climates of our own Atlantic and Pacific sides in corresponding 
latitudes. On the Atlantic coast the mean temperature of 52 



566 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



occurs in latitude 41 , on the Pacific coast in latitude 48 . In 
crossing the continent from east to west the isothermal line of 
44 of temperature ranges through every degree of latitude be- 
tween 34 and 45 . This difference is not confined to the op- 
posite coasts, but is notably manifested in passing from the Mis- 
sissippi westward to the great central plateau at the base of the 
Rocky Mountains, where the temperature at considerable alti- 
tudes is higher than it is at the level of the Atlantic coast in 
the same latitudes. Fort Benton, on the Upper Missouri, is 
at the altitude of 2700 feet; but the mean temperature is io° 
warmer than at St. John's, Newfoundland, in nearly the same 
latitude ; whereas, by the general rule of altitudes, it should 
be 9 colder. At Fort Laramie, 4500 feet above the sea, it is 
warmer by 2 or 3 than at Boston, the latitudes being nearly 
the same. Denver, 6000 feet above the sea, has the same mean 
temperature as Baltimore, whereas, the latitude being the same, 
it should be 20 colder. The extremes of mean annual temper- 
ature in the United States occur in Southern Florida and the 
sandy plains of Arizona, where it rises to 76 , and in Northern 
Minnesota and Dakota, where it sinks to 36 . But the extreme 
range between summer and winter temperature is much greater. 
A summer heat of 1 18 in the shade has been noted in Arizona, 
and a winter cold of — 25 , or 57 below the freezing point of 
water, in Maine, and nearly as much in Nebraska. Table XXX. 
shows the rainfall for each State and Territory, of the whole 
year, and the hottest summer and the coldest winter month in 
the year, the numbers being, whenever possible, the average for 
several successive years. 

Rainfall. — A regular and adequate supply of moisture is 
the prime essential of fertility of the soil. Without this, no mat- 
ter what else there may be, barrenness is inevitable, and there 
are very few regions outside of the polar regions which are des- 
ert from any other cause than the absence of water. Taking the 
term rainfall in its widest sense, so as to include snow and fogs, 
all the fresh water of the globe has rained down from the clouds. 
There is a prevalent opinion that a gradual diminution is going 
on in the annual rainfall of the earth. There is, indeed, a very 



CLIMATE, TEMPERATURE, AND RAINFALL. 



567 



considerable variation in the amount of rainfall from one year to 
another. There are wet years and dry years, and there seems 
to be a degree of periodicity in the recurrence of these, and em- 
inent meteorologists have endeavored to show that the seasons 
run in respect to cycles of about ten years. But accurate obser- 
vations have been made in Great Britain and the older parts of 
the United States since 1810, and the recorded results show that, 
dividing this seventy years into periods of ten years, the annual 
rainfall does not appreciably differ from decade to decade. Dur- 
ing the whole seventy years the difference between the lowest 
and the highest decade was as 938 to 1068 in the Eastern and 
Middle States of the Union, and slightly less in Great Britain. 
The change, moreover, as far as there is any, is by way of in- 
crease in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, and on the Atlantic 
coast from Maine to Virginia, with a slight decrease on the 
South Atlantic coast. In California, where the observations go 
back only to 1850, there appears to be a considerable decrease 
during the last decade ; but it is not improbable that all these 
apparent variations are to be ascribed to inaccuracies in ob- 
servation rather than to any permanent change in the general 
amount of rainfall in the several sections, although there is a 
considerable difference between the quantity in a dry year and 
a wet one. 

There is a very great difference in the amount of rainfall 
in different regions. At Cherrapoonjee, among the Ghauts in 
India, the annual rainfall is 610 inches; at Singapore, 190; 
at Bombay, 85 ; at Madras, 45. In France it is 56 inches at 
Bayonne, and 23 at Paris. In Great Britain it is 50 inches at 
Galway, 39 at Glasgow, and 24 at London. It is 85 inches at 
Bergen (Norway), 38 at Milan, 29 at Brussels, 24 at Berlin, 20 at 
Vienna, 16 at St. Petersburg, 9 at Madrid. In Africa there are 
86 inches at Sierra Leone, 27 at Algiers, 24 in the Cape Colony. 
In America, outside of the United States, we find 153 inches at 
Balize (Honduras), 90 at Sitka, 54 in British Columbia, 75 at 
Barbados, 83 at Kingston (Jamaica), 50 at Havana, 59 at Rio 
Janeiro, 8 at Cumana (Venezuela). In Australasia, there are 46 
inches at Sydney, 30 at Melbourne, 20 at Hobart Town, 19 at 



568 



THE WORLD'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



Adelaide. In Tahiti and the other Polynesian islands the aver- 
age is about 45 inches. 

In the United States the average rainfall is very different in 
the different sections. The extremes are 70 or 80 inches upon 
, the upper Pacific slope, down to 12, 8, or even less in the great 
interior basin lying between the Rocky Mountains and the 
Sierra Nevada, and portions of Lower California. On the At- 
lantic slope the range is from 36 to 60 inches, and somewhat 
less in the Lake region and in the valleys of the Missouri 
and Upper Mississippi. In those States and Territories the area 
of which is very large the amount is different in different sec- 
tions. Table XXX. shows (together with the mean tempera- 
ture) the average rainfall in the several States and Territories : 



TABLE XXX.— MEAN TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL. 



States. 


Rainfall. 


Mean Temperature. 


States. 


Rainfall. 


Mean Temperature. 


Sum- 
mer. 


Win- 
ter. 


Year. 


Sum- 
mer. 


Win- 
ter. 


Year. 




Inches. 


Deg. 


Deg. 


Deg. 




Inches. 


Deg. 


Deg. 


Deg. 




50 


82 


50 


63 




32 


79 


28 


55 




6 


85 


35 


60 


Montana Ter. . . 


13 


70 


11 


42 


Arkansas 


48 


80 


46 


62 




28 


70 


22 


48 


California .... 


21 


60 


59 


56 






Colorado 


13 


74 


29 


49 


New Hampshire 


50 


68 


27 


46 


Connecticut . . . 


48 


69 


30 


50 


New Jersey . . . 


44 


70 


29 


52 




50 


88 


19 


54 


New Mex. Ter. . 


20 


70 


32 


51 




50 


79 


33 


52 


New York 


42 


75 


32 


48 




54 


83 


53 


70 


North Carolina. 


46 


72 


38 


54 




62 


83 


46 


66 


Ohio 


40 


76 


32 


52 






Oregon 


39 


66 


37 


50 




40 


77 


33 


54 


Pennsylvania . . 


40 


75 


32 


48 




38 


76 


31 


52 


Rhode Island. . 


42 


70 


30 


50 




44 


71 


24 


48 


South Carolina. 


41 


79 


46 


63 


Kansas 


45 


76 


29 


53 


Tennessee .... 


46 


74 


38 


57 




50 
58 


75 


35 


55 




35 
15 


84 


50 


68 


Louisiana 


82 


50 


68 


Utah Ter 


76 


27 


51 




42 


69 


23 


44 


Vermont 


41 


68 


17 


42 


Maryland 


48 


79 


34 


56 




45 


76 


41 

38 


58 


Massachusetts . 


45 


71 


21 


48 


Wash. Ter . 


54 


63 


51 


Michigan 


31 


68 


27 


47 


West Virginia . 


43 


71 


31 


52 


Minnesota .... 


36 


75 


25 


47 


Wisconsin .... 


32 


72 


20 


46 


Mississippi .... 


58 


84 


43 


66 


Wyoming Ter. . 


14 


72 


13 


44 



Whenever possible, these figures give the average results at 
different points in the States for a number of years ; but in some 
cases such data are inaccessible, and the figures represent only 
a single place. Thus, the observations for California were those 
made at San Francisco ; for Texas, at Austin ; for Washington 



1 



CLIMATE, TEMPERATURE, AND RAINFALL. 571 

Territory, at Steilacoom ; for Utah, at Salt Lake City ; for New 
Mexico, at Santa Fe ; for Wyoming, at Cheyenne. We find no 
record of continuous observation for even a single year in Ne- 
vada or Arizona; and in no State does the mean temperature 
indicate the extreme range of the thermometer, which often rises 
in summer many degrees above the mean, and in winter falls 
many degrees below the mean range. This is more especially 
the case in the central basin and in the prairie States of the 
North-west. 

The rainfall in nearly every section is amply sufficient for 
agricultural purposes if it were properly distributed ; but where 
it falls below twenty inches artificial irrigation is advisable ; if 
it is less than ten inches, irrigation is absolutely indispensable 
in order to secure any probability of good crops. The periodic- 
ity of the rainfall is also a matter to be taken into account. On 
the Atlantic coast rains occur at all seasons, but in the Southern 
portions mainly in the summer, and to this fact is to be ascribed 
the adaptation of the climate to the growth of cotton. On the 
Pacific coast the rainfall is mainly in the winter, although south 
of latitude 40 there are autumnal rains. In the region bounded 
by the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains rain in summer is 
almost unknown, and to this, rather than to any absolute defi- 
ciency, is to be ascribed the necessity of irrigation there. This 
peculiarity is specially noted in the chapter devoted to Califor- 
nia. The first thing to be considered by the agriculturist who 
has it in mind to emigrate to any part of the United States 
where there is a distinctively dry season, is whether artificial 
irrigation is practicable. If this cannot be had, the lands, how- 
ever excellent in other respects, will be comparatively worthless 
for agricultural purposes, and are suitable only for grazing. 



NOTES. 



Note i. 

IT would be difficult to select a more fitting frontispiece for this book than 
"The Promised Land," an engraving of a statue by Franklin Simmons, 
one of our foremost American artists. It expresses the energetic pioneer spirit 
that has looked over this broad land of ours, and, seizing upon its possibilities, 
has made the wilderness blossom like the rose. 

No feeble purpose is here depicted ; but the ardent gaze of one who longs 
for a wide sphere of activity, and has the keenness of vision to detect the grand 
opportunities which beckon from the horizon the thoughtful and the vigorous. 

Note 2. 

The rapid development of the West, and the magnificent scale upon which 
agricultural operations are carried on, are well shown by these companion 
engravings — "Ploughing and Sowing," "Harrowing and Reaping." One of 
the fields in Dakota devoted to wheat -growing contains 13,000 acres, while 
farms of 6000 acres are quite common. 

"A Harvest Scene" in Scotland makes a contrast which is by no means 
exaggerated. 

Note 3. 

"Irrigating an Orange Grove" and "Vintage at San Gabriel" illustrate 
scenes in Southern California so graphically described by Mr. Charles Nordhoff. 
He states that good crops of both grapes and cereals may be raised there for 
a series of years ; but then a dry year comes, and everything is scorched from 
the face of the earth. Orange groves must be irrigated every year. 

Want of water ruins many a crop in the rest of the United States. Why 
should not the farmers in all sections turn their thoughts to irrigation ? Would 
not the windmills which now dot every landscape in the North contribute some- 
thing to the solution of the problem ? 

NOTE 4. — Runners. 

* * * Iroquois was born in America, trained by an American, and had won 
fame on the American turf before he landed in England. He unfortunately 



574 



NOTES. 



missed the Two Thousand Guineas, but won the Derby by half a length, and 
the St. Leger, over a longer course, by a length. The throngs of horse-taming 
Yorkshiremen who crowd the Town Moor at Doncaster are better judges of 
genuine sport than the Londoners who make an annual holiday at Epsom, and 
the welcome they gave to Iroquois was warmer than the ovation accorded to 
him at Epsom. Iroquois is a brown horse with one white fore-foot, and shows 
splendid action and staying powers. In both races he enjoyed the benefit of 
Archer's riding, Lord Falmouth resigning his claim to that jockey's services in 
the St. Leger. Between these two great events he won the Prince of Wales's 
Stakes at Ascot, giving nine pounds. The success of Mr. Lorillard's horse is 
to be attributed in no small degree to his American trainer, Pincas, who, as 
a well-informed correspondent of the Spirit of the Times writes, "took a lame 
horse from the hands of his predecessor and won the great event of the year." 
How great a horse Iroquois is, is proved by the fact that since the establish- 
ment of the two races only nine double victories have been gained. # * # 

Foxhall, by King Alfonso, was born in Kentucky, and was purchased by his 
fortunate owner for the small sum of $650. He is a dark bay, with black points, 
and the near hind pastern white. He has a clean head, light neck, a back a 
trifle too lengthy, but a good barrel, and shoulders of admirable power. He 
was the first American colt that ever ran in France. The finish for the Grand 
Prix was magnificent. Archer was riding the French colt Tristan, and as they 
came along the homestretch rode his very best, and lifted his horse almost 
even to Foxhall. A shout of " Tristan ! Tristan !" was rending the air from 
thousands of excited Frenchmen, the horses were almost past the Jockey Club 
stand, when Fordham for the first time raised his whip. A cut on the shoulder 
of Foxhall is answered by a grand leap forward, and the Grand Prix of Paris, 
with its 160,000 francs, is won by Mr. Keene. 

After his French victory Foxhall performed but poorly at Ascot, and Eng- 
lish critics felt inclined to think his triumph at Longchamps a mere accident. 
They were undeceived by his splendid performances in the great autumn locals. 
In the Cesarewitch he carried no pounds, and won in a common canter; in 
the Select Stakes, with 127 pounds, he again defeated with the utmost ease his 
old French rival Tristan; in the Cambridgeshire, with 126 pounds on his back, 
he defeated Lucy Glitters, carrying 91 pounds, by a head, while Tristan came 
in third, with 107 pounds. Among the horses not placed by the judge in this 
last race was the Derby victor of 1880, Bend Or, carrying 134 pounds. In 
the Champion Stakes, ten days before the Cambridgeshire, Bend Or, with 130 
pounds, had defeated Iroquois with only 116 on his back. But we must not 
rashly infer anything as to the relative merits of the two American horses from 
these performances, as Iroquois was quite fourteen pounds below his Derby 
form. Foxhall's double victory in the two great Newmarket handicaps has had 
only one parallel, the victory of Rosebery in 1876. Mr. Keene may well say 
that his "colt is the greatest horse in the world." The Cesarewitch course is 
two miles and a quarter in length, and Foxhall came in ten lengths in front 



NOTES. 



575 



of Chippendale — an exploit of which the greatest horses in the annals of the 
turf might have been proud. In the Cambridgeshire the finish was closer, but 
the great stamina of the American enabled him to struggle successfully with 
his less heavily weighted competitors. 

Trotters. 

The best trotters that flourished about 1830 could not do a mile under 2.50, 
but in 1856 Flora Temple reduced the time to 2.24^. In 1866, Woodruff's 
pride, Dexter, under the saddle, did the mile at Buffalo in 2.18, and in the 
following year in 2.17^. Since that time Mr. Bonner's famous Rarus, Gold- 
smith Maid, Lulu, and others have trotted their mile in 2.15 or less. # * * 

If the pedigree of Almont, in the male line, were succinctly stated after Script- 
ural fashion, it would be somewhat as follows : The Darley Arabian, imported 
into England in the year 1709, begot Flying Childers, and Flying Childers begot 
Blaze, and Blaze begot Sampson, and Sampson begot Engineer, and Engineer 
begot English Mambrino, and English Mambrino begot Messenger (imported 
into the United States), and Messenger begot Abdallah, and Abdallah begot 
Rysdyk's Hambletonian, and Rysdyk's Hambletonian begot Alexander's Abdal- 
lah, and Alexander's Abdallah begot Almont. The pedigree in the breeder's 
catalogue, however, follows back his dam and granddam in the same way, the 
first tracing through the divergent stream of Mambrino Paymaster to the Dar- 
ley Arabian also, and the second through Alexander's Pilot, Jun., and imported 
Diomed to the Godolphin Arabian. It traces also each male factor to his first, 
second, and third dam, and sets down his famous progeny and his time, so that 
the whole occupies two closely printed duodecimo pages. 

Make way ! make way ! The spirited young stallion Almont Lightning, 
son of Almont, is led out into the straw -covered aisle. He is good -nature 
itself, yet it would not be comfortable to be knocked by his heels into the 
middle of next week, even in play. What power and fire ! He is sixteen 
hands high, dark bay, and has black points extending up to the knees and 
hocks. * * * 

The stallion Aberdeen is a son of Rysdyk's Hambletonian by the star mare 
Widow Machree. The Widow was one of the gamest mares that ever lived. 
She would go in any condition of health, and in her greatest race had to be 
helped to her feet, and "could scarcely put one foot before the other" when she 
first came on the track. Happy Medium is another son of Rysdyk's Hamble- 
tonian, by Princess, the great rival of Flora Temple. Ethan Allen, Jun., repre- 
sents the hardy Morgan family. 

Note 5. 

"Sheep Tending" and "A Barn-yard" are both English scenes, introduced 
by way of contrast, to bring into relief the farm scenes of America. In " Merrie 
England" an average of twenty-eight bushels of wheat is raised to the acre, 
and frequently from forty to fifty bushels are obtained. Many of the farms are 

31 



576 



NOTES. 



five and six hundred acres in extent, and the farmers who lease the land (they 
rarely own it) have a struggling time, and the laborers invariably end their days 
in the pauper establishments. Relief to laborers is characterized as "their 
share in the wealth of England." All of this struggling and humiliation go to 
sustain the grandest nobility on the face of the earth. 

Note 6. — " View of Echo Farm Buildings." 11 Jerseys." 

This model dairy farm on the sterile soil of Connecticut is conducted on 
strict business principles by a business man, who, by raising the celebrated 
"Jersey" stock and using correct methods in all details of management, is 
enabled to command one dollar a pound for all the butter produced, and get 
fabulous prices for his animals. 

Note 7. — "A Home Lawn" 

Why do young men grow restive, and chafe to leave the farm ? Because the 
fathers and mothers are too much absorbed in money-making, and forget that 
the bright and the beautiful appeal more forcibly to the young life than the 
prudent and the prosaic. What a potent influence a beautiful home exercises 
over a youth, following him through manhood and finally bringing him back 
to be gathered to his fathers! Every country home can be made a Paradise 
without the expenditure of much money. Its grounds, at least, can be em- 
bellished in a variety of ways, of which this engraving gives a hint. 

Note 8. 

" The Field Bouquet " shows how profuse nature is in supplying the means 
of an adornment which attracts the eye, and appeals to the taste quite as much 
as marbles and bronzes. Such simple bouquets as the one shown in this en- 
graving are always of great value for house decorative purposes, and are always 
sure to delight the lovers of nature and the invalid, as much as an expensive 
bouquet of hot-house roses. 

NOTE 9. — "Returning From Work." 

The artist finds more to depict in rural scenes than among the palaces of 
the great cities. Let no aspirant for art-honors, living in some obscure local- 
ity, think that he has not at hand an abundance of material from which to draw 
his inspirations. 

Note 10. 

" Turning a River " is a characteristic scene in California, where even the 
" everlasting hills " give way before the search for gold. 



NOTES. 



577 



Note ii. 

"Old Manner of Working" and "New Manner of Working" show the 
march of improvement in coal-mining. 

Note 12. 

"Petroleum Pumping near Oil City" explains itself. May we not ask, while 
our thoughts rest a moment upon this marvel of these later times, if there is 
not some other natural product awaiting discovery? 

NOTE 13. — "Light of the Pyrosoma" 

Humboldt refers to a spectacle he enjoyed when passing through a zone of 
fire bodies in the Gulf Stream, saying, " One night among the Florida Keys our 
party had been drifting over the reef in silent admiration of the scene, when, 
in a boat in front of us, a singular light suddenly appeared like a halo, sur- 
rounding a fair young face, flooding it seemingly with golden radiance. A 
large pyrosoma had been captured, and its glass prison held aloft in pleasant 
jest — a living beacon to the more tardy explorers. The brilliancy of this beau- 
tiful creature was distinctly visible at a distance of several hundred yards, and 
that of one five feet in height can well be imagined." 

Note 14. — "Salmon Fishing!' 

This engraving illustrates a scene common in Maine, where the rivers still 
furnish abundant sport to fishermen, and one that may again become common 
in rivers where salmon were once abundant, if the Fish Commission receive 
active co-operation on the part of the people. 

NOTE 15. — "Avenue of Hemlocks and Spruces." 

In this engraving we have an effect in landscape gardening within the reach 
of any one owning a few acres of land. It is in the power of any reader of 
this book who is engaged in farming not only to contribute his mite to the 
future health, comfort, and wealth of the country by planting trees, but to add 
largely to the beauty of his neighborhood by their proper selection and arrange- 
ment. Herein is room for the finest artistic perceptions. An authority on this 
subject declares that a landscape artist who has any proper conception of his 
task is difficult to find. 

Note 16. 

"Snaking out Logs" is a scene in the California redwood forests. "Near 
the end of the log an iron hook called a 'dog' is driven in, where the drag is 



578 



NOTES. 



attached ; then six or eight yoke of oxen drag it endwise down the hill. Though 
the pitches they scramble down are too steep and smooth for us to follow, the 
oxen stay upon their legs and keep out of the way of the logs. But a single 
log must be of extraordinary size to content the driver. He frequently chains 
together two, three, even five or six logs, and starts up the slow-moving cattle 
with a train behind them four or five rods long." 

NOTE 17.— "Rafts in the Dells." 

"The Dells" is an irregular gorge some ten miles in length, walled in with 
sandstone rock from thirty to one hundred feet in height, through which the 
Wisconsin River flows. The river here swells to a greater width, its broad 
expanse so smooth that the sky and floating rifts of fleecy clouds are reflected 
in its surface with such perfection that we seem afloat between hemispheres of 
light, clasped by a double zone of dark-brown rock and sand, and set in broken 
bands of green. The rafts will soon cease to add to the picturesqueness of the 
scene, for the pine forests have but a few more years of existence before them. 

NOTE 18. — "Main Entrance to the Cathedral, Seville" 

This engraving is inserted for the benefit of readers interested in art and 
architecture. 

Note 19. — "The Gates of Ghiberti." 

This is a representation of the doors of the Baptistery of Florence, a church 
twelve hundred years old. 

In 1400 these doors in bronze were designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti. When 
the designs were submitted to the judges, his chief competitor, who divided 
their opinions, besought them to decide in Ghiberti's favor, as the merit was un- 
doubtedly his. Michael Angelo, standing before them one day, said, " They 
are so beautiful that they might stand at the gates of Paradise." 

A copy in bronze one-half the size of the original was made by Barbedienne 
of Paris, and sold to Prince Demidoff. At the sale of his collection they were 
purchased for Mr. William H. Vanderbilt, to grace his residence on Fifth 
Avenue. 

Note 20. — "Columbus Before the Council." 

This, with seven other panels of the bronze doors of the Capitol at Washing- 
ton, was executed by Randolph Rogers, one of our talented American artists, 
who has given to the world many exquisite works indicating fine sentiment and 
fancy. 

A " Carved Decorative Panel " is by T. W. Dewing, an American artist, and 
is in answer to the demands upon art made by those who are creating beautiful 
homes. 



NOTES. 



579 



Note 21. 

"Evening" is by E. D. Palmer, of Albany, who has won transatlantic fame 
by the purity and originality of his art. His exquisite bass-reliefs, in which he 
has embodied with extreme felicity the domestic sentiments, or the yearnings 
and aspirations of the Christian soul, are among his best and most widely 
known productions. 

Note 22. — "Sculpture over Door of St. Hubert's Chapel at Amboise" 

France. 

This chapel is said to contain the finest fifteenth century art-work in Europe. 

NOTE 2 3 . — ' ' Souvenir. ' ' 

This drawing was inserted not only as a specimen of the engraver's skill, 
but because it is an interesting example of the conversion of artistic material to 
purely decorative uses in illustration. It is one of the most graceful of the 
many ornamental conceits that Mr. Gibson's fertile pencil has produced. 

Note 24. 

" The Bay-window in W. K. Vanderbilt's House, Fifty-second Street, R. M. 
Hunt, Architect," is a specimen of the elaborate decoration which is to adorn 
the buildings of the future. Heretofore, as compared with Europe, we have 
but little architecture and feeble art. But both the architect and the artist 
are in process of evolution, and the genius of each will be found among the 
young readers of this book. 

NOTE 25. — "Hall and Staircase" 

The stiff, unbroken stairs of our primitive dwellings are to give way to ele- 
gant constructions like this, which admit of decorative effects otherwise im- 
possible. The "Frieze" also shows the direction of the mural decoration 
which now replaces the heretofore wearisome and empty areas of even our best 
interiors. 

NOTE 26. — "Modem Dwellings." . 

Few residences display the just proportions of Design 1. The original 
idea was suggested by a design of a villa by M. Aubertin in " Habitations 
Modernes." In stone or brick, the estimated cost of such a building would be 
$16,000. It contains fifteen commodious rooms. Design 2 is a good illus- 
tration of the prevailing style of architecture. Twelve or thirteen rooms can 
be constructed in it, and the cost complete would be about $15,000. 



580 



NOTES. 



Note 27. — "Ebony Cabinet." 

With this elaborate specimen of wood-carving is seen an " Oak Easel," a 
"Child's Walnut Chair," and an "Italian Sconce," all interesting to students of 
Decorative Art. The " Chest in Carved Oak " furnishes an example of an- 
tique carving which in some respects is not approached in these days. 

NOTE 28. — "Parlor Decoration." 

This represents a parlor decorated by Louis C. Tiffany & Co., the foremost 
decorators of this country. Twenty years hence thousands of decorators will 
have an ample field for the display of their talents. We trust that some of the 
readers of this book may be among the foremost. 

Note 29. 

"Trenton and its Potteries" and "Decorating Room" illustrate the begin- 
ning of a great industry in this country. Enough has been accomplished to 
prove that there is in store for America a complete ceramic independence of 
the countries that now supply her with the finest wares, since she possesses 
both the inventive genius and unlimited supplies of the best raw materials. 

This beautiful " Faience Vase " is one of the most important ones belong- 
ing to the collection of Mrs. Colonel T. Scott. 

The United States Potters' Association, composed of over fifty firms, has 
founded an evening School of Design at Trenton, to which those employes 
may be sent who evince a talent for drawing, modelling, or decoration • thus 
endeavoring to supply the artistic requirements also. 

Note 30. 

" On a Market-boat in North Holland " is an excellent piece of wood-en- 
graving designed to furnish an example for readers interested in the study of 
the art. 

NOTE 31. — "St. Cecilia" by Raphael. 

The celebrated painting from which the engraving is taken is in the museum 
at Bologna. The matchless artist has represented the virgin martyr in an 
ecstasy listening to celestial music, and letting fall from her hands a little port- 
able organ on which she has begun the concert finished by the angels. 

Note 32. — "Jacques Cartier Setting tip a Cross at Gaspe." 

In 1534 Cartier visited Newfoundland and the St. Lawrence, and at Gaspe, 
in the province of Quebec, near the mouth of the river, erected a cross. The 



NOTES. 



581 



artist and wood-engraver have both succeeded well in this effort to depict a 
historic scene. 

Note 33. 

This illustration shows the decorative value of a few old plates. It is not 
a fancy sketch, but a photographic copy of the fireplace and chimney in a room 
in an old New England country house. The mantel is of plain wood, in old 
style, without ornament, and the excellent taste of a lady who loves art has 
made it brilliant with enamels. We only regret that we cannot give the colors 
to exhibit the charming effect. The tiles which surround the fireplace are blue- 
and-white, decorated in quaint old patterns at Delft, except the corners, which 
are Venetian. Above them hangs a row of five ancient blue-and-white Chinese 
and Japanese plates of various patterns, all superb in color. On the mantel 
stand from time to time such ornaments as suit the taste or the mood of the 
lady. To-day there are two old square bottles of Chinese porcelain, a pair of 
Sevres cups of very delicate work, a drug vase of Italian majolica, and two tall 
vases of German glass, graceful in shape and rich in color. On the wall hang 
both paintings and plates. The paintings are water-colors, which generally 
harmonize better than oil-paintings with enamels. None of the plates hanging 
here are painted with subjects. It is not often that pottery or porcelain with 
subject paintings can be hung with other paintings. But each of these plates 
is a gem of color. The lower one of the three in the middle is a wonderful 
piece of old Japanese splendor, a wild intermingling of every color known to 
ceramic art, in leaves, flowers, and emblematic designs around the arms, or 
insignia, of a prince. Above it is a plate of "porcelaine des Indes," which 
might be mistaken for Lowestoft, and above this a large Delft dish. The plate 
at the right is by Wedgwood, and (a rare occurrence) on its back is the name 
of the person for whom the service was made — a New Englander of the last 
century. There are some very rare and very beautiful ceramic treasures in 
cabinets on the other sides of the room ; but this chimney is important to our 
purposes, as well as beautiful, for many of the plates are representatives of old 
services in the family, and all the specimens here visible, including those on 
the mantel, excepting only the Venetian tiles, were obtained in this country. 
There is no one specimen which for beauty and decorative effect is not worth 
much more than its weight in silver. 

It is a very easy matter for any one, with patience and taste, thus to make 
a room brilliant, cheery, and full of bright thoughts. There is probably no 
New England village, dating its settlement from the last century, which could 
not furnish material for many such decorations. 

Note 34. 

"A Sunday Morning in Surrey" is a fine wood-engraving by Hoskin, who 
ranks among the best wood-engravers of this country. American wood-en- 



582 



NOTES. 



gravings are now admitted by all critics to be superior to foreign productions. 
We would here suggest to our readers that first-class wood-engravers are always 
in demand. 

Note 35. — "A Library Effect!' 

A writer on Decorative Art says, "It is only a few years since the name 
of an American artist has become commercially valuable. Now that our com- 
mercial millionaires have begun to vie with each other as liberal patrons of art, 
we find the most ambitious undertakings in New York City ; and though five 
years hence the most elaborate efforts of to-day will seem comparatively mere 
experiments in luxurious splendor, it is hardly five years since a description of 
them would have sounded to American ears, at least, like fabulous extrava- 
gance. Not that the humbler tastes of the aesthetic poor are receiving less 
attention — on the contrary, our most famous decorators take special pride in 
such small triumphs over economical restrictions as the accompanying illus- 
tration of a small library effect by Mr. Samuel Colman, in which a delicate 
sense of proportion and of color is made to supply the place of expensive 
material and workmanship." There is nothing to prevent woman, with her ex- 
quisite taste, from filling this promising field of Decorative Art. 

Note 36. 

" Screens " afford an ample field for the display of the fancy of amateur 
decorators, and add largely to the elegance of a room. The engraving repre- 
sents one painted by Princess Helena. 

Notes 37 and 38. 

"Springtime" and "Art Connoisseurs," drawn by W. H. Gibson, are most 
beautiful specimens of wood-engraving, and will serve as models for those who 
wish to excel in the study of that interesting, profitable art. 



Note 39. — "Among the Weeds!' 

What is said of the " Field Bouquet " is equally applicable to this wood- 
engraving. The delicacy of treatment, however, is greater, and it can be char- 
acterized as a far better example of fine work. 



Note 40. 

"The Lost Lenore" is reduced from one of the engravings in "The Raven," 
the last work illustrated by the great French artist, Gustave Dore. It follows 
these lines : 

"Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow 
From my books surcease of sorrow — sorrow for the lost Lenore." 



NOTES. 



583 



Note 41. 

" The Sisters," from a painting by E. A. iVbbey, affords another engraving 
for the study of those ambitious to excel in wood-engraving. 

Note 42. 

"The Ghost in Hamlet" is by Thomas R. Gould, an American artist who 
has created some remarkable and beautiful ideal works. In his productions 
we find a powerful originality, and an attempt to render in marble effects usu- 
ally left to the higher orders of pictorial art. 

Note 43. 

" A Cloud Effect on Mount Lafayette, White Mountains," drawn from 
nature by W. H. Gibson, is interesting to the artist, and at the same time 
worthy of the attention of the engraver. 

Note 44. 

" A Winter Rendezvous," by W. H. Gibson, furnishes more material for 
amateur engravers — those who wish to draw from the storehouse of nature. 



J 



APPENDIX. 



Various Interesting and Valuable Tables from HASWELL's Mechanics 
and Engineers' Pocket-book : re -written, and enlarged to about 850 
pages. 1884. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, Franklin Square, New 
York. {Nearly Ready) 



HUMAN AND ANIMAL SUSTENANCE. 

Least Quantity of Food required to sicstain Life. 

Carbon. Nitrogen. 
Grs. Grs. 

Adult Man 4300 200 

Adult Woman 3900 180 

Mean 4100 190 

These quantities and proportions are contained in about 2 lbs. 2 oz. ordinary 
bakers 1 bread. 

A man, for his daily sustenance, requires about 1220 grs. nitrogenous matter, 
and bread contains 8.1 per cent, of it. 

Therefore, 2 lbs. 2 oz. — 14,875 grains x8.i = 1205 grains. 

A T utritive Values of Food in Grains per Ponnd. 



Foou. 



Beef 

Barley-meal 

BakeiV Bread . . , 

Buttermilk 

Bullock's Liver. . 
Beer and Porter , 

Carrots 

Cheddar Cheese. , 

Cocoa , 

Drv Bacon 

Fat Pork 

Flour, Seconds . , 



Carb. I Nitr 




Food. 



Fresh Butter . . . 
Green Vegetable 
Green Bacon . . . 

Indian-meal 

Lard 

Molasses 

Mutton 

New Milk 

Oatmeal 

Pearl-barley 

Potatoes 

Parsnips 



Carb. Nitr 



6.456 
420 
5.426 
3.016 
4.819 
2.395 
1.900 
599 
2.831 
2.660 
769 
554 



14 
76 
120 



189 
44 

136 
91 
22 
12 



Food. 



Eve-meal 

Rice 

Red Herrings . 

Split Peas 

Sugar 

Skimmed Milk 
Skim Cheese . . 

Suet 

Salt Butter . . . 

Turnips 

Whey 

White-fish 



Carb. 


Nitr. 


2.693 


86 


2.732 


68 


1.435 


217 


2.698 


248 


2.955 




438 


43 


1.947 


483 


4.710 




4.585 




263 


13 


154 


13 


871 


195 



ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
Primary division of Food is into Organic and Inorganic. 

Organic is subdivided into Nitrogenous and Non-Nitrogenous ; Inorganic is 
composed of water and various saline principles. The former elements are destined 
for growth and maintenance of the body, and are termed " plastic elements of nu- 
trition." The latter are designed for undergoing oxidation, and thus become source 
of heat, and are termed " elements of respiration," or " calorifacient." 

Although fat is non-nitrogenous, it is so mixed with nitrogenous matter that it 
becomes a nutrient as well as a calorifacient. 

Alimentary Principles. — 1, water; 2, sugar; 3, gum; 4, starch; 5, pectine; 6, 



586 



APPENDIX. 



acetic acid ; 7, alcohol ; 8, oil or fat. Vegetable and Animal. — 9, albumen ; 10, 
fibrine ; 11, caseine ; 12, gluten; 13, gelatine; 14, chloride of sodium. 

These alimentary principles, by their mixture or union, form our ordinary foods, 
which, by way of distinction, may be denominated compound aliments ; thus, meat is 
composed of fibrine, albumen, gelatine, fat, etc. ; wheat consists of starch, gluten, 
sugar, gum, etc. 

DIGESTION. 

Time required for Digestion of several Articles of Food. — Beaumont, M.D. 



Food 



Apple, sweet and mellow 

11 sour and mellow 

" sour and hard 

Barley, boiled 

Bean, boiled 

Bean and Green Corn, boiled . . 
Beef, roasted rare 

" roasted dry 

" Steak, broiled 

" boiled.., 

" boiled, with mustard, etc. 

" Tendon, boiled 

" " fried 

" old salted, boiled 

Beet, boiled 

Bread, Corn, baked 

" Wheat, baked, fresh 

Butter, melted 

Cabbage, crude 

" " crude, vinegar 

" crude, vinegar, boiled 

Carrot, boiled 

Cartilage, boiled 

Cheese, old and strong 

Chicken, fricasseed. 

Custard, baked 

Duck, roasted 

Dumpling, Apple, boiled 

Egg .... 

" whipped 

" boiled hard 

" soft 

" fried 

Fish, Cod or Flounder, fried. . . 

" Cod, cured, boiled 

" Salmon, salted and boiled 

" Trout, boiled or fried 

Fowl, boiled or roasted 

Goose, roasted 

Gelatine, boiled 



Time. 



h. 
1 

2 
2 
2 
2 
3 
3 

3 30 



45 



5 
4 
4 
3 
3 
3 
3 
2 
2 
4 

4 30 

3 15 

4 15 
3 30 



30 



2 
2 
4 
4 
3 
2 

1 30 

3 30 
3 

3 30 
3 30 
2 

4 

1 30 
4 

3 

2 30 



Food. 



Time. 



Heart, animal, fried 

Lamb, boiled 

Liver, Beet's, boiled , 

Meat and Vegetables, hashed , 

Milk, boiled or fresh j 

Mutton, roasted , 

" broiled or boiled 

Oyster 

" roasted , 

" stewed , 

Parsnip, boiled 

Pig, sucking, roasted 

" Feet, soured, boiled 

Pork, fat and lean, roasted 

" recently salted, boiled 

" " fried 

" " " broiled 

" " " raw 

Potato, boiled 

baked 

" roasted 

Eice, boiled 

Sago, boiled 

Sausage, Pork, broiled 

Soup,' Barley 

41 Beef and Vegetable 

" Chicken 

" Mutton or Oyster 

Sponge-cake, baked 

SueCBeef, boiled 

" Mutton, boiled 

Tapioca, boiled 

Tripe, soured 

Turkey.roastedjWM^. .......... 

" boiled 

Turnip, boiled, 

Veal, roasted 

" fried ' 

" Brain, boiled 

Venison Steak, broiled 



Analysis of Different Foods in their Natural Condition. 



Apples 

Barley 

Beans 

Beef 

Buckwheat . . . 

Cabbage 

Chicken .' 

Corn, Northern 
" Southern 

Cucumbers 

Lamb 



Ni- 
trates. 


Carbon- 
ates. 


Phos- 
phates. 


Water. 




Ni- 
trates. 


Carbon- 
ates. 


Phos- 
phates. 


Water. 


5 


10 


1 


81 


Milk of cow. . . 


5 


8 


1 


86 


17 


69.5 


3.5 


10 




12.5 


40 


4.5 


43 


24 


57.7 


3.5 


14.8 


Oats 


17 


66.4 


3 


13.6 


15 


30 


5 


50 




9.2 


7 


1 


82.8 


8.6 


75.4 


1.8 


14.2 


Pork 


10 


50 


1.5 


38.5 


4 


5 


1 


90 


Potatoes 


2.4 


22.5 


.9 


74.2 


19 


3.5 


4.5 


73 


" sweet. 


1.5 


28.4 


2.6 


67.5 


12 


73 


1 


14 




6.5 


79.5 


.5 


13.5 


35 


48 


3 


14 




5 


4 


.5 


90.5 


1.5 


1 


.5 


97 


Veal 


16 


16.5 


4.5 


63 


11 


35.5 


3.5 


50 


Wheat 


15 


69.2 


1.6 


14.2 



APPENDIX. 



587 



Nitrates — Are that class which supplies waste of muscle. 

Carbonates — Are that class which supplies lungs with fuel, and thus furnishes 
heat to the system, and supplies fat or adipose substances. 

Phosphates — Are that class which supplies bones, brains, and nerves, and gives 
vital power, both muscular and mental. 

From above it appears that Southern corn produces most muscle and least fat, 
and contains enough of phosphates to give vital power to brain, and make bones 
strong. Mutton is the meat which should be eaten with Southern corn. 

The nitrates in all the fine bread which a man can eat will not sustain life beyond 
fifty days ; but others, fed on unbolted flour bread, would continue to thrive for an 
indefinite period. It is immaterial whether the general quantity of food be re- 
duced too low, or whether either of the muscle-making or heat-producing principles 
be withdrawn while the other is fully supplied. In either case the effect will be the 
same. A man will become weak, dwindle away, and die, sooner or later, according 
to the deficiency ; and if food is eaten which is deficient in either principle, the 
appetite will demand it in quantity till the deficient element is supplied. All food, 
beyond the amount necessary to supply the principle that is not deficient, is not 
only wasted, but burdens the system with efforts to dispose of it. 



Analysis of Fruits. 



Fecit. 


Water. 


Sugar. 


Acid. 


Albumi- 
nous Sub- 
stances. 


Insoluble 
Matter. 


Pectous 

Sub- 
stances. 


Ash. 


Apple, white 


85 


7.6 


1 


.22 


1.83 


3.88 


.47 




83.5 


1.8 


1.1 


.51 


4.7 


7.55 


.84 




86.4 


4.44 


1.19 


.51 


5.26 


1.72 


.48 




75.4 


13.1 


.35 


.9 


5.83 


3.73 


.69 




80.5 


8.77 


1.28 


.83 


5.91 


2.07 


.64 


black 


79.7 


10.7 


.56 


1 


6.01 


1.33 


.67 




85.4 


5.6 


1.7 


.36 


3.74 


2.4 


.8 




85.6 


8 


1.35 


.44 


2.92 


1.26 


.43 


" yellow 


85.4 


7 


1.2 


.46 


3.17 


2.4 


.37 




80 


13.78 


1 


.83 


2.48 


1.44 


.47 


Peach, Dutch 


85 


1.58 


.61 


.46 


5.49 


6.4 


.46 


Pear, red 


83.5 


7.5 


.07 


.25 


3.54 


4.8 


.34 


Plum, yellow gage 


80.8 


2.96 


.96 


.48 


3.98 


10.48 


.34 


large " 


79.7 


3.4 


.87 


.4 


3.91 


11.3 


.42 




88.7 


2 


1.27 


.4 


6.86 


.23 


.54 


" red 


85.3 


2.25 


1.33 


.43 


4.23 


5.85 


.61 




81.3 


6.73 


.84 


.83 


4.01 


5.63 


.66 


Raspberry, wild 


83.9 


3.6 


2 


.55 


8.37 


1.28 


.4 


Strawberry, " 


87 


4 


1.5 


.6 


5.5 


.4 


1 




73.9 




Sugar, Pectin, Salt 


, Acid, etc., 26.1. 





HORSE. 

Amount of Labor a Horse of average Strength is capable of performing, at different Velocities, on 
Canal, Railroad, and Turnpike. ( Traction estimated at 83.3 lbs.) 



Veloci- 
ty per 
Hour. 


Dura- 
tion of 
Work. 


Useful Effect, drawn 1 Mile. 


Veloci- 
ty per 
Hour. 


Dura- 
tion of 
Work. 


Useful Effect, drawn 1 Mile. 


On a 
Canal. 


On a 
Kailroad. 


On a 
Turnpike. 


On a 
Canal. 


On a 
Railroad. 


On a 
Turnpike. 


Miles. 


Hours. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


Miles. 


Hours. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


Tons. 


2.5 


11.5 


520 


115 


14 


6 


2 


30 


48 


6 


3 


8 


243 


92 


12 


7 


1.5 


19 


41 


5.1 


4 


4.5 


102 


72 


9 


8 


1.125 


12.8 


36 


4.5 


5 


2.9 


52 


57 


7.2 


10 


.75 


6.6 


28.8 


3.6 



Actual labor performed by horses is greater, but they are injured by it. 
Tractive Power of a horse decreases as his speed is increased, and within limits 
of low speed, or up to 4 miles per hour, it decreases nearly in an inverse ratio. 

A horse can travel 400 yards at a walk in \\ minutes, at a trot in 2 minutes, and 



588 



APPENDIX. 



at a gallop in i minute. He occupies in the ranks a front of 40 inches and a depth 
of 10 feet; in a stall, from 3^- to 4! feet front ; and at a picket, 3 feet by 9 ; and his 
average weight = 1000 lbs. 

A horse, carrying a soldier and his equipments (225 lbs.), can travel 25 miles in 
a day (8 hours). 

A draught - horse can draw 1600 lbs. 23 miles a day, weight of carriage in- 
cluded. 

The ordinary work of a horse may be stated at 22,500 lbs., raised 1 foot in a 
minute, for 8 hours a day. 

In a horse-mill a horse moves at the rate of 3 feet in a second. The diameter of 
the track should not be less than 25 feet. 

A horse-power in machinery is estimated at 33,000 lbs., raised 1 foot in a min- 
ute ; but, as a horse can exert that force but 6 hours a day, one machinery horse- 
power is equivalent to that of \\ horses. 

The expense of conveying goods at 3 miles per hour per horse teams being i,the 
expense at 4^ miles will be 1.33, and so on — the expense being doubled when the 
speed is $i miles per hour. 

The strength of a horse is equivalent to that of 5 men. 

The daily allowance of water for a horse should be 4 gallons. 

Hauling Stone. — A cart drawn by horses over an ordinary road will travel 1.1 
miles per hour of trip. 

A four-horse team will haul from 25 to 36 cubic feet of limestone at each load. 

The time expended in loading, unloading, etc., including delays, averages 35 min- 
utes per trip. The cost of loading and unloading a cart, using a horse-crane at the 
quarry and unloading by hand, when labor is $1.25 per day, and a horse 75 cents, is 
25 cents per perch = 24.75 cubic feet. 

The work done by an animal is greatest when the velocity with which he moves 
is \ of the greatest with which he can move when not impeded, and the force then 
exerted .45 of the utmost force the animal can exert at a dead pull. 

Labor upon Embankments. — Ellwood Morris. 

Single Horse and Cart. — A horse with a loaded dirt-cart, employed in excava- 
tion and embankment, will make 100 lineal feet of trip, or 200 feet in distance per 
minute, while moving. The time lost in loading, dumping, awaiting, etc. = 4 min- 
utes per load. 

A medium laborer will load with a cart in 10 hours, of the following earths, 
measured in the bank : 

Gravelly Earth, 10; Loam, 12; and Sandy Earth, 14 cubic yards. 

Earth from a natural excavation occupies \ more space than when transported 
to an embankment. 

Carts are loaded as follows : Descending Hauling, 1 of a cubic yard in bank ; 
Level Hauling, f- of a cubic yard in bank ; Ascending Hauling, | of a cubic yard 
in bank. 

Loosening, etc. — In Loam, a three-horse plough will loosen from 250 to 800 cubic 
yards per day of 10 hours. 

The cost of loosening earth to be loaded will be from 1 to 8 cents per cubic 
yard when wages are 105 cents per day. 

The cost of trimming and bossing is about 2 cents per cubic yard. 

Scooping. — A scoop-load will measure of a cubic yard, measured in excavation. 

The time lost in loading, unloading, and turning, per load, is i4r minutes. 

The time lost for every 70 feet of distance, from excavation to bank, and re- 
turning, is 1 minute. 

In Double Scooping, the time lost in loading, turning, etc., will be 1 minute ; and 
in Single Scooping it will be minutes. 



APPENDIX. 



589 



MEN. 

Mean effect of power of men working to best practicable advantage is raising of 
70 lbs. 1 foot high in a second for 10 hours per day = 4200 foot-pounds per minute. 

Windlass. — Two men, working at a windlass at right-angles to each other, can 
raise 70 lbs. more easily than one man can 30 lbs. 

Labor. — A man of ordinary strength can exert a force of 30 lbs. for 10 hours 
in a day, with a velocity of 2.5 feet in a second = 4500 lbs. raised one foot in a 
minute —.2 of work of a horse. 

A man can travel without a load, on level ground, during 8.5 hours a day, at the 
rate of 3.7 miles an hour, or 31.25 miles a day. He can carry 11 1 lbs, 11 miles in 
a day. Daily allowance of water, 1 gallon for all purposes ; and he requires from 220 
to 240 cube feet of fresh air per hour. 

A porter going short distances, and returning unloaded, can carry 135 lbs. 7 
miles a day, or he can transport, in a wheelbarrow, 150 lbs. 10 miles in a day. 

Cra?ie. — The maximum power of a man at a crane, as determined by Mr. Field, 
for constant operation, is 15 lbs., exclusive of frictional resistance, which, at a ve- 
locity of 220 feet per minute = 3300 foot-pounds, and when exerted for a period of 
2.5 minutes was 17.329 foot-pounds per minute. 

Pile-driving. — G. B. Bruce states that, in average work at a pile-driver, a laborer, 
for 10 hours, exerts a force of 16 lbs. plus resistance of gearing, and at a velocity 
of 270 feet per minute, making one blow every four minutes. 

Rowing. — A man rowing a boat 1 mile in 7 minutes performs the labor of 6 fully 
worked laborers at ordinary occupations of 10 hours per day. 

Drawing or Pushing. — A man drawing a boat in a canal can transport 110,000 
lbs. for a distance of 7 miles, and produce 156 times the effect of a man weighing 
1 54 lbs. and walking 31.25 miles in a day; and he can push on a horizontal plane 
20 lbs. with a velocity of 2 feet per second for 10 hours per day. 

Tread-mill. — A man either inside or outside of a tread-mill can raise 30 lbs. at a 
velocity of 1.3 feet per second for 10 hours = 1,404,000 foot-pounds. 

Pulley. — A man can raise by a single pulley 36 lbs. with a velocity of .8 of a foot 
per second for 10 hours. 

Walking. — A man can pass over 12.5 times the space horizontally that he can 
vertically, and, according to J. Robison, b}^ walking in alternate directions upon a 
platform supported on a fulcrum in its centre, he can, weighing 165 lbs., produce an 
effect of 3,984,000 foot-pounds for 10 hours per day. 

Pump, Crank. Bell, and Rowing. — Mr. Buchanan ascertained that, in working a 
pump, turning a crank, ringing a bell, and rowing a boat, the effective power of a 
man is as the numbers 100, 167, 227, and 248. 

Pumping. — A practised laborer can raise, during 10 hours, 1,000,000 lbs. of water 
1 foot in height with a properly designed and constructed pump. 

Crank. — A man can exert on the handle of a screw-jack of 11 inches radius for 
a short period a force of 25 lbs., and continuously 15 lbs.; a net power of 20 lbs. 
Mr. J. Field's tests gave 11. 5 lbs. as easily attained, 17.3 as difficult, and 27.6 with 
great difficulty. 

Mowing. — A man can mow an acre of grass in 1 day. 

Reaping. — A man can reap an acre of wheat in 2 days. 

Ploughing. — A man and horse .8 of an acre per day. 

Day's Work.—D. K. Clark. 

Laborer. — Carrying bricks or tiles, net load 106 lbs. =600 lbs. 1 mile. 
Carrying coal in a mine, net load 95 to 115 lbs. = 342 lbs. 1 mile. 
Loading coke into a wagon, net load 100 lbs. = 270 lbs. 1 mile. 
Loading a boat with coal, net load 190 lbs.= 1230 lbs. 1 mile, or 20 cube yards of 
earth in a wagon. 



590 



APPENDIX. 



Digging stubble-land .055 of an acre per day, or 2000 cube feet of superficial earth. 

Breaking 1.5 cube yards hard stone into 2-inch cubes. 

Quarrying. — A man can quarry from 5 to 8 tons of rock per day. 

A foot-soldier travels in 1 minute, in common time, 90 steps == 70 yards. 

He occupies in ranks a front of 20 inches, and a depth of 13, without a knapsack ; 
interval between the ranks is 13 inches. 

Average weight of men 150 pounds each, and five men can stand in a space of 1 
square yard. 

CRUSHING STRENGTH. 

The Crushing Strength of any body is in proportion to the area of its section, 
and inversely as its height. 

In tapered columns the strength is determined by the least diameter. 

Crushing Strength of various Materials, deduced fro?n the Expedients of Maj. Wade, Hodgkin- 
sou, and Capt. Meigs, U. S. A. (Reduced to a uniform Measure of One Sqitare Inch.) 



Figures and Material. 



Cast Ikon. 

American, gun-metal 

" mean 

English, Low Moor, No. 1 , 

No. 2 

" Clyde, No. 3 

" Stirling, mean of all 

" " extreme , 

Wrought Iron. 

American 

" mean — 

English I 

Various Metals. 

Fine brass , 

Cast copper , 

Cast steel , 

Cast tin 

Lead 

Woods. 

Ash 

Beech 

Birch 

Box 

Cedar, red , 

Chestnut 

Elm 

Hickory, white 

Locust 

Mahogany, Spanish 

Maple 

Oak, American white 

" Canadian white 

" " live 

" English I 

Pine, pitch 

" white 

" yellow 

Spruce, white , 

Sycamore , 

Teak 

Walnut 

Stones, Cements, etc. 
Brick, machine-pressed j 



Crushing 
Weight. 



Lbs. 

174,803 
129,000 
62,450 
92,330 
106,039 
122,395 
134,400 



127,720 
83,500 
65,200 
40,000 



164,800 
117,000 
295,000 
15,500 
7,730 



6,663 
6,963 
7,969 

10,513 
5,968 
5,350 
6,831 
8,925 
9,113 
8,198 
8,150 
6,100 
5,982 
6,850 
9,500 
6,484 
8,947 
5,775 
8,200 
5,050 
7,082 

12,100 
6,645 



6,222 
14,216 



Figures and Material. 



Brick, common j 

Clay, fine, baked 

" " rolled and baked 

Common brick masonry \ 

Crown-glass 

Craigleith Limestone, English . j 

Aberdeen granite. . . " -j 

Arbroath " 

Caithness " 

Limestone " 

Portland " j 

Portland cement ... " 
" mean " 

Portland oolite " 

Fire-brick, Stourbridge 

Freestone, Belleville 

" Caen 

" Connecticut 

" Dorchester 

Little Falls 

Gneiss 

Granite, Patapsco 

" Quiney 

Marble, Baltimore, lar°;e 

" " • small 

East Chester 

" Hastings, N. T 

" Italian 

" Lee, Mass 

" Montgomery Co., Pa. . . . 

" Stockbridge 

" Symington, large 

" " fine crystal 

" " strata horizontal 

" " strata vertical. . . 

Mortar, good 

" common 

Normandy Caen 

Portland cement 1, sand 1 

Roman " 

Sandstone, Adelaide 

" Aquia Creek 

" Seneca 

Stock brick 

Svdnev " 



APPENDIX. 



591 



Strength of Ice. 

Thickness : 2 inches will bear infantry ; 4 inches will bear cavalry or light guns ; 
6 inches will bear heavy field-guns ; 8 inches will bear, upon sledges, a weight not 
exceeding 1000 lbs. per square foot. 

TENSILE STRENGTH OF MATERIALS. 

Weight or Power required to Tear asunder one Square Inch. 
METALS. 



Copper, wrought 

" rolled 

" cast, American 

'*' wire 

bolt 

Iron, cast. Low Moor, No. 2, 

Clvde, No. 1 

" No. 3 

Calder, No. 1 

Stirling, mean 

mean of American 

mean* of English 

Greenwood, American. 

gun-metal, mean 

wrought wire 

best Swedish bar 

Russian bar 

English bar 

rivets, American 

bolts 

hammered 

mean of English 

rivets, English 

crank shaft 

turnings 



plates, boiler, American, 



Lbs. 



34,000 
36,000 
42,2.50 
61,200 
36,800 
14,076 
16,125 
23,468 
13,735 
25,764 
31,829 
19,484 
45.970 
37,232 
103,000 
72,000 
59,500 
56,000 
53,300 
52,250 
53,913 
53,900 
65,000 
44.750 
55,800 
4S.000 
62,000 



Iron, plates, mean, English. 
" " lengthwise 



crosswise 

" inferior, bar 

" wire, American 

" " " 16 diam. 

" scrap 

Lead, cast 

" milled 

" wire 

Platinum, wire 

Silver, cast 

Steel, cast, maximum 

u 41 mean 



blistered, soft. 



" shear 

" chrome, mean 

" puddled, extreme 

" American Tool Company. 

w plates, lengthwise 

" " crosswise 

" razor 

Tin, cast, block 

" Banca 

Zinc 

" sheet 



Lbs. 



51,000 
53,800 
48,800 
30,000 
73.600 
80,000 
53,400 
1,800 
3,320 
2,580 
53,000 
40,000 
142,000 
88,657 
133,000 
104,000 
124,000 
170,980 
173,817 
179,980 
96,300 
93,700 
150,000 
5,000 
2,122 
3,500 
16,000 



Lake Superior and Iron Mountain charcoal bloom iron has resisted 90,000 
lbs. per square inch. 



COMPOSITIONS. 



Lbs. 



Gold 5, Copper 1 50,000 

Brass 42,000 

" yellow 18,000 

Bronze, least 17,698 

" greatest 56,788 



Copper 10, Tin 1 

" 8, " 1, gun-metal 
" 8, "1, small bars 

Tin 10, Antimony 1 

Yellow metal 



Lbs. 



32,000 
30,000 
50,000 
11,000 
48,700 



WOODS. 



Ash 

Beech 

Box 

Bay 

Cedar 

Chestnut, sweet 

Cypress 

Deal, Christiania 

Elm 

Lance 

Lignumvitae 

Locust 

Mahogany 

" Spanish . . 



Lbs. 



14,000 
11,500 
20,000 
14,000 
11,400 
10,500 

6,000 
12,400 
13,400 
23,000 
11.800 
20,500 
21,000 
12,000 

8.000 



Maple 

Oak, American white , 

" ' English 

" seasoned 

" African 

Pear 

Pine, pitch 

" larch 

" American white. 

Poplar 

Spruce, w r hite 

Svcamore 

Teak 

Walnut 

Willow 



Lbs. 



10,500 
11,500 
10,000 
13,600 
14,500 

9,800 
12,000 

9,500 
11,800 

7,000 
10,290 
13,000 
14,000 

7,800 
13,000 



* By Commissioners, on application of iron to railway structures. 

32 



592 



APPENDIX. 



MISCELLANEOUS SUBSTANCES. 



Brick, well burned 

" fire 

" inferior 

Cement, blue-stone 

" hydraulic 

" Harwich 

" Portland, 6 mos. . 

" Sheppy 

" Portland 1, sand 3 

Chalk 

Glass, crown. 

Gutta-percha 

Hydraulic lime 

" " mortar 

Ivory 

Leather belts '. 



Lbs. 

750 

65 
290 
100 

77 
234 

30 
414 

24 
380 
118 
2,346 
3,500 
140 
140 
16,000 
330 



Limestone j 

Marble, Italian , 

" white , 

Mortar, 12 years old , 

Plaster of Paris 

Pope, Manila 

" hemp, tarred , 

" wire 

Sandstone, fine grain 

Slate 

Stone, Bath 

" Craigleith , 

" Hailes 

" Portland j 

Whalebone 



Lbs. 

670 
2,800 
5,200 
9,000 
60 
72 
9,000 
15,000 
37,000 
200 
12,000 
352 
400 
360 
857 
1,000 
7,600 



WEIGHTS OF VARIOUS SUBSTANCES. 

Weights and Volumes of various Substances in Ordinary Use. 



Substances. 



Brass. 



Metals. 

j copper 67 } 
• ' * j zinc 33 f 
gun-metal .. 

" sheets 

" wire 

Copper, cast 

" plates 

Iron, cast 

" gun-metal 

" heavy forging 

" plates 

" wrought bars 

Lead, cast 

" rolled 

Mercury, 60° 

Steel, plates 

" soft 

Tin 

Zinc, cast 

" rolled 



Woods. 



Ash 

Bay 

Blue Gum 

Cork 

Cedar 

Chestnut 

Hickory, pig-nut. . . 
' " shell-bark 

Lignumvitse 

Logwood 



Mahogany, Honduras. 

Oak, Canadian 

English 

" live, seasoned. . . 

" white, dry 

" " upland... 
Pine, pitch 

" red 

" white 

" well-seasoned . . 

" yellow 



On hp "Pont 


On hp T n oh 


Lbs. 


Lbs. 


488.75 


.2829 


543.75 


.3147 


513.6 


.297 


524.16 


.3033 


547.25 


.3179 


543.625 


.3167 


450.437 


.2607 


466.5 


.27 


479.5 


.2775 


481.5 


.2787 


486.75 


.2816 


709.5 


.4106 


711.75 


.4119 


848.7487 


.491174 


487.75 


.2823 


489.562 


.2833 


455.687 


.2637 


428.812 


.2482 


449.437 


.2601 




Cube Feet 




in a Ton. 


52.812 


42.414 


51.375 


43.601 


64.3 


34.837 


15 


149.333 


35.062 


63.886 


38.125 


58.754 


49.5 


45.252 


43.125 


51.942 


83.312 


26.886 


57.062 


39.255 


35 


64 


66.437 


33.714 


54.5 


41.101 


58.25 


38.455 


66.75 


33.558 


53.75 


41.674 


42.937 


52.169 


41.25 


54.303 


36.875 


60.745 


34.625 


64.693 


29.562 


75.773 


33.812 


66.248 



Substances. 



Woods. 

Spruce. 

Walnut, black, dry 

Willow 

" dry 

Miscellaneous. 

Air 

Basalt, mean , 

Brick, fire , 

" mean 

Coal, anthracite -j 

" bituminous, mean 

" Can n el 

" Cumberland 

" Welsh, mean 

Coke 

Cotton, bale, mean 

" " pressed, j 

Earth, clay 

" common soil . . . 
" " gravel. 

dry, sand 

" loose 

" moist, sand .... 

" mould 

" mud 

" with gravel 

Granite, Quincy 

" Susquehanna. 

Gypsum 

Hay, bale 

" hard pressed 

Ice, at 32° 

India-rubber 

" vulcanized 

Limestone 

Marble, mean 

Mortar, dry, mean 

Plaster of Paris 

Water, rain 

salt 

at 62° 



Cube Foot. 



Lbs. 

31.25 
31.25 
36.562 
30.375 



.075291 




175 


12.8 


137.562 


16.284 


102 


21.961 


89.75 


24.958 


102.5 


21.854 


80 


28 


94.875 


23.609 


84.687 


26.451 


81.25 


27.569 


62.5 


35.84 


14.5 


154.48 


20 


114 


25 


89.6 


120.625 


18.569 


137.125 


16.335 


109.312 


20.49 


120 


18.667 


93.75 


23.893 


128.125 


17.482 


128.125 


17.482 


101.875 


21.987 


126.25 


17.742 


165.75 


13.514 


169 


13.254 


135.5 


16.531 


12 


186.66 


25 


89.6 


57.5 


38.95 


56.437 


39.69 


197.25 


ii. 355 


167.875 


13.343 


97.98 


22.862 


73.5 


30.476 


62.5 


35.84 


64.312 


34.83 


62.355 


35.955 



APPENDIX. 



593 



BRICKS. 

Variations in dimensions by various manufacturers, and different degrees of 
intensity of their burning, render a table of exact dimensions of different manu- 
factures and classes of bricks altogether impracticable. 

As an exponent, however, of the ranges of their dimensions, following averages 
are given : 



Description. 


Ins. 


Description. 


Ins. 


Baltimore front. . . 
Philadelphia u ... 
Wilmington " ... 
Croton " ... 

English ordinary. . 

u Lond. stock 
Dutch clinker 


j- 8. 25x4. 125x2. 375 

8.5 x 4 x2.25 
8.25x3.625x2.375 
9 X4.5 x2.5 
8.75x4.25 x2.5 
6.25x3 xl.5 


Milwaukee 

Stourbridge fire- ) 

brick \ 

American do., N.Y. 


7.5 x 3. 375x2. 375 
8.5 x 4. 125 x 2. 375 
8 x3.5 X2.25 
j 7.75 x 3.625x2.25 
\ 8 x4.125x2.5 

9.125 x 4.625 x 2.375 

8.875x4.5 x 2.625 



In consequence of the variations in dimensions of bricks, and thickness of the 
layer of mortar or cement in which they may be laid, it is also impracticable to 
give any rule of general application for volume of laid brickwork. It becomes 
necessary, therefore, when it is required to ascertain the volume of bricks in ma- 
sonry, to proceed as follows : 

To Compute Volicme of Bricks, and Number in a Cube Foot of Masonry. 

Rule. — To face dimensions of particular bricks used, add one-half thickness of 
the mortar or cement in which they are laid, and compute the area ; divide width 
of wall by number of bricks of which it is composed ; multiply this area by quotient 
thus obtained, and product will give volume of the mass of a brick and its mortar 
in inches. 

Divide 1728 by this volume, and quotient will give number of bricks in a cube foot. 

Example. — Width of a wall is to be 12.75 inches, and front of it laid with Philadelphia 
bricks in courses .25 of an inch in depth ; how many bricks will there be in face and backing 
in a cube foot ? 

Philadelphia front brick, 8.25 x 2.375 inches face. 

8.25 + .25 X 2 2 = 8.25 + .25 = 8.5 = length of brick and joint ; 

2.375 + .25 X 2 -4- 2 = 2.375 + .25 = 2.625 = width of brick and joint. 

Then 8.5 X 3.625 = 22.3125 ins. = area of face ; 12.75 3 {"timber of bricks in width of 
wall) = 4.25 ins. 

Hence 22.3125 X 4.25 = 94.83 cube ins. ; and 1728 -f- 94.83 = 18.22 bricks. 



LIME AND LATHS. 

A Cask of Lime = 240 lbs., will make from 7.8 to 8.15 cubic feet of stiff paste. 
A Cask of Cement = 300 lbs., will make from 3.7 to 3.75 cubic feet of stiff 
paste. 

Laths are 1^ to \\ inches by four feet in length, are usually set \ of an inch 
apart, and a bundle contains 100. 

Estimate of Materials and Labor for 1 00 Square Yards of Lath and Plaster. 



Materials and 
Labor. 



Lime 

Lump lime 

Plaster of Paris 

Laths 

Hair 

Sand 



Three Coats 
Hard Finish. 



4 casks. 



2000 

4 bushels. 
7 loads. 



Two Coats 
Slipped. 



3£ casks. 



2000 

3 bushels. 
6 loads. 



Materials and 
Laboe. 



White sand. 

Nails 

Masons 

Laborer 

Cartage 



Three Coats 
Hard Finish. 



2£ bushels 
13 lbs. 
4 days. 
3 " 
1 " 



Two Coats 
Slipped. 



13 lbs. 

Sh day! 
2" " 



594 



APPENDIX. 



CAPACITY OF CISTERN IN GALLONS. 



For each io Inches in Depth. 



Diam. 


Gallons. 


Diam. 


Gallons. 


Diam. 


Gallons. 


Diam. 


Gallons. 


; Diam. 


Gallons. 


Feet. 




Feet. 




Feet. 




Feet. 




Feet. 




2. 


19.5 


4.5 


99.14 


7. 


239.88 


9.5 


441.4 


14. 


959.6 


2. 5 


30.6 


5. 


122.4 


7.5 


275.4 


10. 


489.6 


15. 


1101.6 


3. 


44.07 


5.5 


148.1 


8. 


313.33 


11. 


592.4 


20. 


1958.4 


3.5 


59.97 


6. 


176.25 


8.5 


353.72 


12. 


705. 


25. 


3059.9 


4. 


78.33 


6.5 


206.85 


9. 


396.56 


13. 


827.4 


30. 


4406.4 



SLATES AND SLATING. 

A Square of Slate or Slating is ioo superficial feet. 
Gauge is distance between the courses of the slates. 

Lap is distance which each slate overlaps the slate lengthwise next but one 
below it, and it varies from 2 to 4 inches. Standard is assumed to be 3 inches. 
Margin is width of course exposed, or distance between tails of the slates. 
Pitch of a slate roof should not be less than 1 inch in height to 4 of length. 

To Compute Surface of a Slate when laid, and Number of Squares of Slating. 

Rule. — Subtract lap from length of slate, and half remainder will give length 
of surface exposed, which, when multiplied by width of slate, will give surface 
required. 

Divide 14,400 (area of a square in inches) by surface thus obtained, and quo- 
tient will give number of slates required for a square. 

Example. — A slate is 24 X 12 inches, and lap is 3 inches; what will be number required 
for a square. 

24 — 3 = 2J, and 21 -~ 2 = 10.5, which x 12= 126 inches ; and 14,400 126 = 114.29 

slates. 

Dimensions of Slates. 
AMERICAN. 



Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


14x7 
14x8 
14x9 


14x10 
16x 8 
16 x 9 


16x10 
18x 9 
18x10 


18x11 
18x12 
20x10 


20x11 
20x12 
22x11 


22x12 
22x13 
24x12 


24x13 
24x14 
24x16 



ENGLISH. 





Inches. 




13x10 




13x 7 


Small doubles. . . 


llX 6 




10x 5 


Plantations j 


12x10 
13x10 


Viscountess 


18x10 



Ladies. 



Countess. 



Inches. 



12 x 8 

14 x 8 
14x12 

15 x 8 

16 x 8 
16x10 
20x10 



Marchioness 

Duchess 

Imperial 

Bags 

Queens 

Empress . . . 
Princess 



Thickness of slates ranges from .125 to .3125 of an inch, and their weight varies 
from 2 to 4.53 lbs. per square foot. 



EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION OF BUILDING STONES. 
Expansion or Contraction for each Degree of Temperature. — Lieut. W. H. C. Bartlett, U. S. E. 



For One Inch. 

Granite 000004825 

Marble 000005668 



For One Inch. 

Sandstone 000009532 

White-pine 00000255 



APPENDIX. 



595 



ZINC— SHEETS. 

Thickness and Weight per Square Foot. 



Inch. 

.0311 = 10 oz. 
.0457 = 12 oz. 



Inch. 

.0534 = 14 oz. 
.0611 = 16 oz. 



Inch. 

.0686 = 18 oz. 
.0761 = 20 oz. 



WINDOW GLASS. 

Thickness and Weight per Square Foot. 



No. 


Thickness. 


Weight. 


No. 


Thickness. 


Weight. 


No. 


Thickness. 


Weight. 




Inch. 


Oz. 




Inch. 


Oz. 




Inch. 


Oz. 


12 


.059 


12 


17 


.083 


17 


26 


.125 


26 


13 


.063 


13 


19 


.091 


19 


32 


.154 


32 


15 


.071 


15 


21 


.1 


21 


36 


.167 


36 


16 


.077 


16 


24 


.111 


24 


42 


.2 


42 



WEIGHT OF CATTLE. 

To Compute Dressed Weight of Cattle. 
RULE. — Measure as follows in feet : 

1. Girth close behind shoulders ; that is, over crop and under plate, immediately 
behind elbow. 

2. Length from point between neck and body, or vertically above junction of 
cervical and dorsal processes of spine, along back to bone at tail, and in a vertical 
line with rump. 

Then multiply square of girth in feet by length, and multiply product by factors 
in following table, and quotient will give dressed weight of quarters. 



Condition; 


Heifer, 
Sreer, or 
Bullock. 


Bull. 


Half fat 


3.15 

3.36 
3.5 


3.36 

3.5 

3.64 


Moderate fat 


Prime fat 





Condition. 


Heifer, 
Steer, or 
Bullock. 


Bull. 


Extra fat 


3.64 
3.78 


3.85 
4.06 



Illustration. — Girth of a prime fat bullock is 7 feet 2 inches, and length measured as 
above 4 feet 5 inches. 

7' 2" = 7.17, and 7.17 2 = 51.4, which x 4' 5" and by 3.5= 794.5 lbs. Exact weight was 
799 lbs. 

Note. — 1. Quarters of a beef exceed by a little half weight of living animal. 

2. Hide weighs about an eighteenth part, and tallow a twelfth part of animal. 

Transpoj-tation of Horses and Cattle. 

Space required on board of a Marine Transport is: for horses, 30 inches by 
9 feet ; beeves, 32 inches by 9 feet. Provender required per diem is : for horses, 
hay, 15 pounds; oats, 6 quarts; water, 4 gallons. Beeves, hay, 18 pounds; water, 
6 gallons. 

Proportion of Food Appropriated and Expended by following Animals. 
Proportion appropriated 



Oxen. 


Sheep. 


Swine. 


6.3 


8 


17.6 


36.5 


31.9 


16.9 


57.3 


60.1 


65.5 


100 


100 


100 



596 



APPENDIX. 



HAY. 

550 cubic feet of new meadow-hay, and 440 and 500 from large or old stacks, 
will weigh a ton. 

577 to 604 cubic feet of dry clover weigh a ton. 

Hay and Straw. 

Hay, loose, 5 lbs. per cube foot. Ordinarily pressed, as in a stack or mow, 8 lbs. 
Close pressed, as in a bale, 12 to 14 lbs. 

Ordinarily pressed, as in a wagon-load, 450 to 500 cube feet will weigh a ton. 
Straw in a bale 10 to 12 lbs. per cube foot. 



HILLS IN AN AREA OF AN ACRE. 



Feet 
apart. 


No. 


Feet 
apart. 


No. 


Feet 
apart. 


No. 


Feet 
apart. 


No. 




43,560 


5 


1,742 


9 


538 


16 


171 


¥ 


19,360 


5K 


1,440 




482 


17 


151 




10,890 
6,969 




1,210 


10 


435 


18 


135 


ft 


6^ 


1,031 




361 


20 . 


108 




4,840 


7 


889 


12 


302 


25 


69 




3i556 


3* 


775 


13 


258 


30 


48 


4 


2,722 




680 


14 


223 


35 


35 




2,151 


8X 


692 


15 


193 


40 


27 



NUTRITIOUS PROPERTIES OF DIFFERENT VEGETABLES AND OIL-CAKE, 
COMPARED WITH EACH OTHER IN QUANTITIES. 



Bran, wheat 

Corn , 

Barley 

Pea straw , 

Clover hay 

Hay 



.2.75 and 



Oil-cake 1. 

Pease and Beans 1.5 

Rice 1.6 

Wheat, grain 2.5 

" Sour 2. 

Oats 2.5 

Rye 2.5 

Illustration — 1 lb. of oil-cake is equal to 18 pounds of cabbage 



Potatoes 14. 



Old Potatoes 

Carrots 

Cabbages. 



Barley 
Oat 

Turnips 



20. 

17.5 

18. 



Wheat straw 26. 



26. 

27.5 

30. 



RELATIVE VALUE OF FOODS COMPARED WITH 100 POUNDS OF GOOD HAY. 



Lbs. 

Clover, green 400 

Corn, green 275 

Wheat straw 374 

Rye straw 442 

Oat straw 195 



Lbs. 

Corn-stalks, dried 400 

Carrots 276 

Rye 54 

Wheat 45 

Barley 54 



Lbs. 

57 

59 

62 

69 

Wheat bran 105 



Oats 

Corn 

Sunflower seeds 
Linseed cake . . . 



MANURES. 

Relatrve Fertilizing Properties of Various Maitnres. 



Peruvian Guano 
Human, mixed. . 



.069 



Horse. 
Swine 



.048 
.044 



Farm-yard .0298 

Cow 0259 



Or, 1 lb. guano = 14X human, 21 horse, 22% swine, 33^2 farm-yard, and 38% cow. 



CONSUMPTION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR.— Coathupe. 

The average daily volume of carbonic acid gas given off by the respiration of 
an adult human being amounts to 4.08 per cent, of the air respired. 

In 24 hours the respiration of one healthy adult produces 10.7 cubic feet of 
carbonic acid gas, and removes from the atmosphere exactly the same volume of 
oxygen. 

One wax-candle (three in a pound) destroys, during its combustion, as much 
oxygen per hour as the respiration of one adult. 

The total volume of air that can be required for the respiration of an adult 



APPENDIX. 



597 



human being in 24 hours, even if no portion of that which has been once respired 
were to be inspired again, does not exceed 266.7 cubic feet. 

A lighted taper, when confined within a given volume of atmospheric air, will 
become extinguished as soon as it has converted 3 per cent, of the given volume 
of air into carbonic acid. 

Air and Ventilation. 

An average-sized man will exhale from his lungs and body from .6 to .7 of a 
cubic foot of carbonic acid per hour. A lighted oil-lamp or two candles will fur- 
nish the same volume. 

Assuming, then, that there are 4 volumes of carbonic acid in 10,000 volumes of 
air, and that a man in a room with a lighted lamp or two candles furnishes from 
1.2 to 1.4 cubic feet of acid per hour, there will be required to maintain the air at 
the required condition for health for one man, the allowable pollution of it being 
6 volumes in 10,000, fully 3000 cubic feet of fresh air. By experiments made in 
Paris it was shown that there was required from 2400 to 3120 cubic feet per hour. 

Result of Observations of the Vitiation of the Air. — ANGUS SMITH, M.D. 

Atmosphere 3.2 to 3.4 Theatres, average 8. to 32 

City Parks 3.2 to 3.8 Offices, " 17. to 22 

" Streets 3.8 to 4.4 Workshops, " 20. to 30 

" " in a fog 6. to 6.8 Mines, " 78. to 250 



EFFECT UPON VARIOUS BODIES BY HEAT. 



Wedgwood's zero is 1077 of Fahrenheit, and each degree = 130 . 
In the designation of degrees of temperature the symbol -f- is omitted when the 
temperature is above ; but when it is below it, the symbol — must be prefixed. 



Degrees. 

Acetiflcation ends 88 

Acetous fermentation be- 
gins 78 

Air-furnace 3300 

Ambergris melts 145 

Ammonia boils 140 

Ammonia (liquid) freezes —46 

Antimony melts 951 

Arsenic melts 365 

Beeswax melts 151 

Bismuth melts 476 

Blood (human), heat of. . . 98 

" " freezes... 25 

Brandy freezes — 7 

Brass me Its 1900 

Cadmium melts 600 

Charcoal burns 800 

Coal-tar boils 325 

Cold, greatest artificial. . . —166 

" " natural — 56 

Common fire 790 

Copper melts 2548 

Glass melts 2377 

Gold, fine, melts 2590 

Gutta-percha softens 145 

Heat, cherry red 1500 



Degree?. 

Heat, cherry red (Daniell) 1141 

41 bright red 1860 

" red, visible by day.. 1077 

" white 2900 

Highest natural tempera- 
ture, Egypt 117 

Ice melts 32 

India-rubber and Gutta- 
percha vulcanize 293 

Iron (cast) melts 2100 

" (wrought) melts 2980 

" bright red in the dark 752 
" red hot in twilight. . 884 

Lard melts 95 

Lead melts 594 

Mercury boils 662 

" volatilizes 680 

melts —39 

Milk freezes 30 

Naphtha boils 186 

Nitric Acid (sp. g raw 1.424) 

freezes , —45 

Nitrous Oxide freezes —150 

Olive-oil freezes 36 

Petroleum boils 306 

Phosphorus melts 108 



Degrees. 

Phosphorus boils 560 

Pitch melts 91 

Platinum melts 3080 

Potassium melts 135 

Proof Spirit freezes —7 

Saltpetre melts 600 

Sea- water freezes 28 

Silver, fine, melts 1250 

Snow and Salt, equal parts 

Spermaceti melts 112 

Spirits Turpentine freezes 14 

Steel melts 2500 

" polished,blue 580 

" " straw color 460 

Strong Wines freeze 20 

Sulphur melts 226 

Sulphuric Acid (sp. grav. 

1.641) freezes —45 

Sulphuric ether freezes. .. — 46 
" " boils.... 98 

Tallow melts 97 

Tin melts 421 

Vinegar freezes 28 

Vinous fermentation. . .60 to 77 

Water in vacuo boils 98 

Zinc melts 740 



VOLUME OF OXYGEN REQUIRED TO OXIDIZE 100 PARTS OF FOLLOWING 
FOODS AS CONSUMED IN THE BODY. 



Grape Sugar 



106 I Starch 120 | Albumen 



150 I Fat. 



293 



Hence, assuming capacity for oxidation as a measure, albumen has half value of 
fat as a food-producing element, and a greater value than either starch or sugar. 



598 



APPENDIX. 



PROPORTION OF ALCOHOL IN 100 PARTS OF FOLLOWING LIQUORS.— 

Brande. 



Small Beer 1 and 1.08 

Porter 3.5 and 5.26 

Cider 5.2 and 9.8 

Brown Stout 5.5 and 6.8 

Ale 6.87 and 10 

Rhenish.. 7.58 

Moselle 8.7 

Johannisberger . . 8.71 

Elder Wine 8.79 

Claret ordinaire 8.99 

Tokay 9.33 

Rudesheimer 10.72 

Marcobrunner 11.6 

Gooseberry Wine 11.84 

Hockheimer 12.03 

Vin de Grave..... 12.08 



Hermitage, red 12.32 

Champagne 12.61 

Amontillado 12.63 

Frontiguac 12.89 

Barsac 13.86 

Sauterne 14.22 

Champagne Burgundy. . . 14.57 

White Port 15 

Bordeaux 15.1 

Malmsey 16.4 

Sherry 17.17 

Malaga 17.2 

Alba Flora 17.26 

Hermitage, white 17.43 

Cape Muscat 18.25 

Constantia, red 18.92 



Lisbon 18.94 

Lachryma 19.7 

Teneriife. 19.79 

Currant Wine 20.55 

Madeira 22.27 

Port 23 

Sherry, old 23.86 

Marsala 25.09 

Raisin Wine 25.12 

Madeira, Sercial 27.4 

Cape Madeira 29.51 

Gin 51.6 

Brandy 53.39 

Rum 53.68 

Irish Whiskey 53.9 

Scotch Whiskey 54.32 



BOILING POINTS 



Degrees. 

Ether 96 to 104 

Alcohol, sp. grav. 813 173.5 

Nitric Acid, " 1.5 210 

" " " 1.42 248 

Sea Salt 224.3 

Common Salt 226 

Sulphuric Acid, sp. grav. 1.848 600 

" »« 1.3 240 



VARIOUS FLUIDS. 

Degrees. 



Rectified Petroleum 316 

Oil of Turpentine 304 

Phosphorus 554 

Sulphur 570 

Linseed-oil 640 

Sweet-oil 412 

Sea-water 213.2 

Water, distilled 212 



AVERAGE QUANTITY OF TANNIN IN SEVERAL SUBSTANCES.— Morfit. 



Catechu. Per Cent, 

Bombay 55 

Bengal 44 

Kino 75 

Nutgalls. 

Aleppo 65 

Chinese 69 

Oak. 

Old, inner bark j ^f 2 



Oak. Per Cent. 

Young, inner bark 15.2 

" entire bark. . . 6 

" spring-cut b'k 22 

" root bark.... 8.9 
Chestnut. 

American rose, bark.. 8 

Horse " 2 

Sassafras, root bark 58 

Alder, bark 36 



Sumac. Per Cent. 

Sicily and Malaga .... 16 

Virginia 10 

Carolina 5 

Willow. 

Inner bark 16 

Weeping 16 

Sycamore, bark 16 

Tan shrub " 13 

Cherry-tree 24 



AREAS OF U. S. COAL-FIELDS. 



State. 


Square 
Miles. 




44,000 
21,000 
15,437 
13,500 




Pennsylvania* 



State. 


Square 
Miles. 


Ohio 


11,900 
7,700 
6,000 
5,000 







State. 


Square 
Miles. 




4,300 
3,400 
550 
150 


Georgia 





PROPORTION OF OIL IN VARIOUS AIR-DRY SEEDS.— Berjot. 



Beechnut 24 

Hemp 28 

Watermelon 36 



Mustard 

Flax 

Pea-nut. 



Almond 
Colza . . . 



Orange 40 

P °PP? | fo 



* Bituminous and Anthracite. 



f Anthracite. 



APPENDIX. 



599 



FUEL. 

Weights, Evaporative Powers per Weight and Bulk, etc., of different Fuels. — W. R. Johnson 

and others. 



Frr.L. 



Specific 
Gravicv. 



Bituminous. 
Cumberland, maximum 

" minimum 

Duffryn 

Cannel, Wigan 

Blossburg 

Midlothian, screened 

u average 

Newcastle, Hartley 

Pictou 

Pittsburg 

Sydney 

Garr's Hartley 

Clover Hill, Va 

Cannelton, Iud 

Scutch, Dalkeith 

Chili 

Japanese, Takasmia 

Anthracite. 

Peach Mountain 

Forest Improvement 

Beaver Meadow, No. 5 

Lackawanna 

Welsh, Jones & Co 

Beaver Meadow, No. 3 

Lehigh 

Patent, Warlich's 

Coke. 

Natural Virginia 

Midlothian 

Cumberland 

Charcoal 

Peat 

Wood. 

Pine wood, drv 



1.313 

1.337 

1.3-26 

1.23 

1.324 

1.283 

1.294 

1.257 

1.318 

1.252 

1.333 

1.262 

1.285 

1.273 

1.519 

L231 



1.464 

1.477 

1.5.54 

1.421 

1.875 

1.61 

1.59 

1.15 



1.323 



Weight 
per Cubic 
Foot. 



Lbs. 
52.92 
54.29 
53.22 
48.3 
53.05 
45.72 
.54.04 
50. S2 
49.25 
4(5. SI 
47.44 
47.88 
45.49 
47.65 
51.09 

4V3' 



53.79 
53.66 
56.19 
48.89 
5S.25 
54.93 
55. 32 
69.05 



46.64 

32.7 

31.57 

24. 

30. 



21.01 



Steam from 
Water at 

21-2° bv 1 lb. 
of Fael. 



Lbs. 

10.7 
9.44 

10.14 
7.7 
9.72 
8.94 
8.29 
8.66 
8.41 
8.2 
7.99 
7.84 
7.67 
7.34 
7.0S 



10.11 
10.06 
9.88 
9.79 
9.46 
9.21 
8.93 
10.36 



8.47 

8.63 

8.99 

5.5 

5. 



4.69 



Clinker 

from 
1 fin liw 


Cubic Feet 
required to 

olOW tl lull. 


Lbs. 


JVb. 


2.13 


42.3 


4.53 


41.2 




42.09 




46.37 


3.4 


42.2 


3.33 


49. 


8.82 


41.4 


3.14 


44. 


6.13 


45. 


.94 


47.8 


2.25 


47.2 


1.S6 


46.7 


3.86 


49.2 


1.64 


47. 


5.63 


43.8 



3.03 
.81 
.6 

1.24 

iloi 

1.08 



5.31 
10.51 
3.55 



CHARCOAL. 

The best quality is made from oak, maple, beech, and chestnut. 

Wood will furnish, when properly burnt, about 23 per cent, of coal. 

Charcoal absorbs, upon an average of the various kinds, about 5.5 per cent, of 
water, oak absorbing about 4.28, and pine 8.9. 

Its evaporative power, in the furnace of a boiler and under pressure, is si lbs. of 
fresh water per lb. of coal. 

The volume of air chemically required for the combustion of 1 lb. of charcoal is 
129.5 cubic feet. 

138 bushels charcoal and 432 lbs. of limestone, with 2612 lbs. of ore, will pro- 
duce 1 ton of pig-iron. 



Apple 23.8 

Ash 26.7 

Beech 21.1 



Produce of Charcoal from various Woods, 
Oak 



Birch. 
Elm.. 
Maple 



24.1 
25.1 
22.9 



young 
Poplar 



32.85 
33.3 
20.5 



Red Pine 23. 

White Pine 23.5 

Willow 18.6 



The produce of charcoal by a slow process of charring is very nearly 50 per cent, 
greater than by a quick process. 



600 



APPENDIX. 



WOOD. 

Weights and Comparative Values of different Woods. 



Woods. 



Shell-bavk Hickory 
Red-heart Hickory 

White Oak 

Red Oak 

Virginia Pine 

Southern Pine 

Hard Maple 



Cord. 



Lbs. 
4469 
3705 
3831 
3254 
2689 
3375 
2878 



Value. 



Woods. 



New Jersey Pine 

Yellow Pine 

White Pine 

Beech 

Spruce 

Hemlock 

Cotton-wood 



Cord. 



Lbs. 
2137 
1904 
1868 



Value. 



.54 

.43 

.42 

.7 

.52 

.44 



THE END. 



INDEX. 



A, 

Acreage and values of farms, 36, 37 ; and prod- 
uct of grain crop, Table VI., 40, 41. 

Agricultural chemistry, 146 ; market-gardening, 
requiring thorough knowledge of, 147. 

Agriculture, divisions of, 28 ; exports, Table 
XL, 177. 

Air, atmospheric, 596 ; ventilation, 597. 

Alabama, population of, 15. 

Alcohol, proportions of, in liquors, 598. 

Almond, the, 94 ; cultivation in California, 94, 
95 ; profits, etc., of cultivation, 94, 95. 

Aluminum, 460 ; its uses, 460. 

Amusements, 531-539; for men and women, 
531—539 ; music as an, 536 ; the seaside for, 
535; boarding-house amusements for em- 
ployees, 533, 534. 

Anthracite coal, 206; where found, 206; total 
production, 209 ; wages paid for mining, 210, 
211 ; quantity and values, Table XV., 209. 

Apple, the, grafting, 79; soil for, 78, 79; value 
of, 80; varieties of, 80; failure of, 77, 78; 
gathering, 82, 83 ; preserving for winter, 

Applied science, 413 ; chemistry, 413, 414; civil 

engineering, 414 ; electricity, 415. 
Apprenticeship, system of, 319, 320. 
Apricot, the, 92. 

Architect, and architecture, 368 ; bad, 371 ; what 
is required of an, 372, 373 ; duties of an, 376, 
377; prospects for, 378, 381. 

Area and population of the U. S., 14, 15 ; Table 
I., 15. 

Arizona Territory, population of, 15. 
Arkansas, population of, 15. 
Artisans, unskilfulness of, 329 ; superiority of 
European, 328, 329. 

B. 

Barley, area of production, 47 ; crop summary, 

1880-1882, 166. 
Beans, 64. 

Bees, 129 ; production of honey and wax, 129 ; 

profits derived from, 130 ; females engaged 

in bee culture, 130. 
Beet Sugar, 54 ; not profitable in the U. S., 54 ; 

in France, Germany, Austria, and Russia, 

54- 

Berries, varieties of, 68, 69, 70 ; raspberry, 70 ; 
blackberry, 69; strawberry, 70; whortleberry, 
70 ; cranberry, 69 ; gooseberry, 69, 70. 



Blount, Prof., experiments in wheat breeding, 
180-184. 

Brick, as future building material, 480 ; burning, 
481, 482, 593 ; clay for making, 481. 

Buckwheat, 48 ; summary of crop 1880, 167. 

Butter, 141 ; quantity produced in the U. S., 
141 ; factories for making, 141 ; advice to 
producers of, 142, 143 ; total value of produc- 
tion in the U. S., 142. 

C. 

California, 93-102 ; the olive successfully culti- 
vated in, 93, 94 ; cultivation of the almond, 94, 
95 ; wine-making in, 100-102 ; population of, 
15 ; orange culture in, 89-92 ; climate of, suit- 
ed for apricots, 92. 

Canal navigation, 357 ; cost of, 357. 

Cane, sugar, 51, 52. 

Canvassers and agents, 453 ; good address nec- 
essary for, 455 ; requisites for success, 454, 
455 ; as a permanent occupation, 457 ; in* 
creasing demand for books, 457, 458. 

Cattle, weight of, 595 ; neat,. 114 ; values of an- 
imals slaughtered, 117; winter feeding of, 
172, 173. 

Census reports, value of, 27, 

Ceramics, or pottery, 395 ; clay. easily fashioned,. 
395; African potter, 396; attractive, 396 ; 
collectors of, 399 ; manufacturers of, 400.; 
drawing and designing, 400, 401. 

Charcoal, 599. 

Cheese, 139 ; quantity produced in the U. Si, 
139, 140.; factories for making, 140. 

Chemistry, 413 ; new fields in, 464, 465 ; agri- 
cultural, 146 ; required in cultivation, 147. 

Cherry, the, 82 ; varieties of, 82. 

Chestnut, the, 95 ; Italian, 95, 96. 

China grass, 60, 63. 

Chinese sugar cane, 53. 

Cisterns, capacity of, 594. 

Clerical profession, 279-281. 

Climate of the U. S., influence on health, 564 ; 
difference in, 565, 566 ; rainfall, 566-568, 571 ; 
temperature of, 564, 565 ;. mean temperature 
and rainfall, Table XXX., 568. 

Coal, anthracite, 206 ; where found, 206 ; total 
production, 209 ; bituminous, 209 ; val le of, 
209, 210; wages paid for mining, 21c, 211 ; 
present condition of the industry, 211 ; quan- 
tity and values of, Table XV., 209 ; areas of, 
in the U. S., 598. 

Coca, 468, 469. 



602 



INDEX. 



Cod-fishing, 231 ; yield and value of, 231. 

Colorado, population of, 15. 

Competition, 340. 

Compressed air, uses of, 471, 472. 

Connecticut, population of, 15 ; increase of pop- 
ulation in, 22. 

Copper, production of, 200, 202, 203 ; wages 
paid for mining, 203. 

Corn, Indian, 38, 39 ; sugar, 54 ; summary of the 
crop 1880, 1881, 163, 164. 

Cotton, importance of, 57, 465 ; summary of the 
crop 1880, 173; area of growth, 58; amount 
and value of crops from i860 to 1882, 58 ; 
prices, etc., 58, 59. 

Cows, milch, 114; prices of, 114; milk pro- 
duced by, 133 ; proper food for, 135 ; proper 
care of, 135 ; swill slops unfit for, 136, 139. 

Cranberry, the, 69. 

Crushing strength of materials, 590. 

Currant, the, 69. 

D. 

Dairy products, 131 ; milk, 131-136; cheese, 
139, 140 ; butter, 141-143 ; dairy products, 
Table X., 132 ; milk as food, 139. 

Dakota, population of, 15. 

Deaths, registration of, 552 ; number of, in a 
thousand, 552, 555 ; death rate in England and 
Scotland compared with the U. S., 555 ; ac- 
cording to the census, 555, 556, 563 ; as to 
color, 556 ; as to sex, 556 ; as to age, 557 ; as 
to locality, 557 ; of the different states, 557 ; 
analysis of, in different localities, 558, 559 ; 
in cities, 560. 

Delaware, population of, 15. 

District of Columbia, population of, 15. 



Education, what it implies, 549-551. 
Electricity, 415, 416. 

Emigrant farmer, careful consideration neces- 
sary, 154-157 ; colony system, and govern- 
ment land, families uniting, 157, 158; costs, 
profits, etc., per acre of land, 159-161. 

Emigration from state to state, 19-21. 

Employers, decrease in numbers of, 339. 

Engineering, civil, 414. 

Engines, solar, 470. 

Engravers, women as, 411. 

Engraving, 402 ; copperplate, 404, 407 ; wood, 
407-409 ; cost of, 409 ; requisites for success 
in, 410. 

Ensilage, 57. 



Farmers in the U. S., 144 ; assessed values of 
property, 144, 145 ; wealth of, 144, 145 ; gen- 
eral requisites required for success by, 152; 
capital necessary for, 153 ; hints to those in- 
tending to become, 153, 154; the emigrant, 

. 1-54-161. 

Farm-laborers and farm-owners, 185 ; wages, 
185, 186, 189; wages of agricultural laborers, 
Table XII., 189 ; investment of wages, 190, 
191. 

Farms, definition of, 35 ; acreage and values of, 
Table V., 36, 37. 

Fish and fisheries, reports on, to 1880, 222, 225 ; 
capital invested, 222, 225 ; wages, 225 ; di- 
vision of the industry, 225, 226 ; whale, 227 ; 



seal, 228 ; salmon, 228 ; cod, 228 ; mackerel, 
231 ; herring, 231 ; oyster, 231, 232 ; sardines, 
231 ; shad, 235 ; cultivation of, 233-236; mi- 
gratory, 235 ; industries connected with, 236, 
237; increasing value of, 236, 237; fisheries 
and products by states, Table XX., 226 ; fish- 
eries and products by divisions, Table XXL, 
227. 

Flax, production and area of, 59 ; increase and 
decrease of production, 59 ; value of the seed, 
59- 

Floriculture, 71, 72; flowers, 71, 72 ; cultivation 

of flowers for perfumery, 72. 
Florida, population of, 15. 
Fluids, boiling-points of, 598. 
Fodder, 57. 

Food, alimentary principles of, 586 ; digestion 
of, 586 ; analysis of, 586, 587 ; oxygen re- 
quired to oxidize, 597. 

Forage, sorghum for, 53. 

Forests and their preservation, 238, 241-243 ; 
at St. Helena, 238 ; in Africa, 242 ; in India, 
242 ; in Greece, 243 ; Spice Islands and Pe- 
nang, 243 ; water supply depending on, 244, 
245 ; area in Europe of, 246 ; percentage of 
in U. S., 246, 247 ; decrease of, 247 ; timber 
cultivation act, 248, 249 ; government control 
of, 250 ; in Prussia and Bavaria, 250, 251. 

Fruits, 73 ; productiveness of tropical, 73 ; ap- 
ple, 76-80; pear, 81 ; peach, 81 ; cherry, 82; 
plum, 82, 93 ; orange, 86, 89 ; lemons and 
limes, 90, 91 ; apricots, 92 ; olives, 93 ; cheap 
gatherer for, 83 ; gathering by hand, 83 ; as a 
substitute for drinking, 85. 

Fuel, tables of weight, evaporation powers, etc., 
599- 

Furniture, 392 ; utility and beauty of, 393 ; dura- 
bility of, 393, 394. 



Gardening, 67 ; market, 67, 68 ; agricultural 
charm required for, 147. 

Gardens, 67 ; market, 67, 68 ; agricultural 
charm required for, 147. 

Georgia, population of, 15 ; increase of popula- 
tion of, 23. 

Glass-making, 418 ; value of the industry, 418 ; 
window, 595 ; painting on, 419, 420 ; glass- 
ware, 420, 423. 

Glucose, 54 ; used for adulteration, 55 ; how 
manufactured, 54 ; character and uses of, 
54- 

Gold, 194 ; original condition, 194; Australian, 

194 ; mining, 197, 198. 
Gooseberries, 69, 70. 

Grape, the, 97-105 ; area and growth of the vine 
in the U. S., 97 ; soils adapted for cultivation, 
97, 98 ; modes of cultivating, 98, 99 ; disease 
of> 99 ; grape wines, 100, 10 1 ; prices of grape 
wines, 102; cultivation of raisin grapes, 103. 

Grass, 56 ; selections of, 56 ; varieties of, 56. 

Green Fodder, 57. 

H. 

Hand, the, education of, 322-324, 327. 

Harvests, 162 ; unfavorable, 162, 163 ; wages 
for harvesting, 190. 

Hay, 55 ; comparative worth of the crop in the 
U.S., 55 ; estimated acreage, 55 ; amount con- 
sumed per head, 56 ; crop summary, 1880, 



INDEX. 



603 



1881, 171 ; relative values of food compared 

with, 596 ; weight of, per cubic foot, 596. 
Heat, devices for the conservation of, 469, 470 ; 

effects upon various bodies of, 597. 
Hemp, 60 ; area of cultivation, 60 ; ramie or 

China grass, 60 ; grass-cloth, 60. 
Herring fishery, the, 231 ; yield and value of, 

231. 

Honesty in trade, 341, 342 ; instances of, 343 ; 

dishonesty, 344, 347. 
Hops, 64 ; where grown, 64. 
Horses, 123 ; number of, in the U. S., 123 ; 

value of, 124; loss of, during the war, 123; 

number not on farms, 106 ; number on farms, 

123 ; tractive power of the horse, 587, 588. 
Horticulture, 67 ; for women, 491-493. 
House-building, 373 ; materials for, 373 ; plans 

for, 374. 

Household decoration, 385 ; wall paper, 385, 
386 ; ceiling, 386, 387 ; general effect, 388 ; 
carpets, 388, 391. 

Houses, color for, 374; paint for, 375 ; plumb- 
ing for, 382, 383 ; heating of, 383, 384. 

L 

Idaho, population of, 15 ; copper produced in, 
200. 

Illinois, population of, 15 ; increase of popula- 
tion, 23. 

Increase of population, 15 ; of national wealth 

pro rata, 30, 31. 
Indian corn, 38, 39. 

Indiana, population of, 15; increase of popula- 
tion, 23. 

Industrial occupations, Table III., 28. 
Iowa, population of, 15 ; lead ore produced in, 
200. 

Iron, mining of, 201, 202. 
Irrigation, 571. 

J- 

Jewelry, manufacturers of, 424, 
K. 

Kansas, population of, 15 ; lumber in, 271. 
Kentucky, population of, 15; increase of popu- 
lation in, 23. 

L. 

Labor, necessity for, 26 ; importance of, 26, 

27. 
Lath, 593. 

Lead, mining of, 203 ; smelting of, 204. 
Lecturing, 452, 453. 

Legal profession, 290, 291 ; engrossed by men, 
298. 

Life, probable duration of, 16. 
Lime, 593. 

Linseed oil, 598 ; proportions of oil in seed, 
598. 

Literary profession, 291-294, 297 ; journalism, 
292 ; authorship, 293, 294 ; manuscripts, 294, 
296. 

Lithography, 403, 404. 

Live-stock, estimate of animals on farms, and 
not on farms, 106, 109 ; average values per 
head for the whole U. S., 112 ; all parts of 
animals useful, 113; neat cattle, 114; milch 
cows, 114, 115; sheep, 117-119; swine, 120, 
123 ; horses, 123 ; mules, 124; asses, 124 ; ! 



poultry, 124-126, 129; summary of prices of, 
174-176. 
Louisiana, population of, 15. 
Lumber, and lumbering, extension of the trade 
in the U. S., 253, 254 ; wood indispensable, 
254, 257 ; value of land in Northern and East- 
ern States, 258, 261 ; value in Southern States, 
262, 263 ; value in Western States, 264-266 ; 
sources of future supply of, 267, 268 ; cypress, 
269 ; pine, 270 ; present condition of lumber 
in the valley of the Mississippi, and east of 
the Rocky Mountains, 271, 272 ; present con- 
dition in California, 273, 274 ; government 
care of, 275, 276 ; foreign companies engaged 
in, 274. 

M. 

Machinery, 542, 543 ; indirect injury to indi- 
viduals, 542, 543 ; benefits arising from labor- 
saving, 544, 545 ; skilled and unskilled labor 
versus, 545, 546 ; taking the place of hand- 
labor, 332, 333 ; printing-press, 333 ; looms, 
334- 

Magnesium, 463 ; its uses, 463, 464. 
Maine, population of, 15. 

Man's supremacy, 320-322 ; skilled labor, 328, 
329 ; maximum of power required in differ- 
ent occupations, 589 ; labor on embankments, 
588. 

Manufactures, concentration in large establish- 
ments of, 304, 338, 340 ; increase in values of, 
305, 306 ; success in, 340, 341 ; honesty in, 
341, 342; dishonesty in, 347; advantage of 
trade-marks in, 343, 344 ; silverware, 423 ; 
jewelry, 424 ; manufacturing establishments, 
capital and profit, Table XXVIIL, 313-318. 
Manufacturing, mechanical and mining, 28. 
Manures, 596. 

Maple sugar, 52 ; decrease of production, 52. 
Maryland, population of, 15. 
Massachusetts, population of, 15; increase of 

population in, 22. 
Mate, or Paraguay tea-plant, 468. 
Material, crushing strength of, 590 ; tensile 
strength of, 591 ; metals, 591 ; compositions, 
591 ; woods, 591 ; miscellaneous, 592 ; weights 
of various substances, 592. 
Mechanics, 309 ; effect of employing women 
and children as, 309, 311 ; skilled and un- 
skilled labor, 311, 312; apprenticeship, 319, 
320 ; trades-unions, 320 ; skill required for 
success, 328 ; as men of business, 339 ; wages 
in cities for trades, Table XXVII., 312; 
workers and their wages, 1880, Table XXVI., 
310; numbers employed classified from cen- 
sus, 299, 300 ; difference of wages of, 305, 306 ; 
increase of female, 309. 
Medical profession, 288-290. 
Melon, the, 71. 

j Metallic products, values of, 204, 205. 
Michigan, population of, 15 ; increase of popu- 
lation in, 23. 
Migration of population, Table II., 17, 19, 20. 
Milch cows, 114; prices of, 114; milk produced 
byj *33 > proper food for, 135 ; proper care 
of, 135 ; swill slops unfit for, 136, 139. 
Milk, 131 ; quantity produced in the U. S., 131 ; 
values of, 131 ; important statistics in Har- 
per's Magazine, 133 ; fancy cows, high records 
for, 133 ; quantity required for butter, 133 ; 



604 



INDEX. 



proper food for producing large quantities of, 

I 35» J 36; preserving milk, 139. 
Mineral fields, new, 459 ; to be explored, 459. 
Mineralogy, 416-418. 

Minerals, minor, 204 ; nickel, 204 ; manganese, 
204 ; tin, 204. 

Mining, 194 ; gold-bearing rock, 194 ; chute, 
and deep, 197, 198 ; silver, 198 ; school of, 
198, 418 ; summary of values, 221 ; coal, 206, 

211. 

Minnesota, population of, 15. 

Mississippi, population of, 15. 

Missouri, population of, 15 ; increase of popula- 
tion in, 23. 

Montana, population of, 15. 

Mules and asses, 124 ; numbers of, in U. S., 124 ; 
value of, in U. S., 124. 

Music teachers, 451, 452. 

N. 

National wealth, increase of, 30, 31. 
Nativity of the population of the U. S., 14. 
Navigation, steam, 357 ; capital invested in, 

357 ; employes, 357 ; division of groups in 

U. S., 357, 358. 
Neat cattle, 114; values of animals slaughtered, 

117 ; winter feeding of, 172, 173. 
Nebraska, population of, 15. 
Nevada, population of, 15 ; copper produced in, 

200. 

New Hampshire, population of, 15. 

New Jersey, population of, 15 ; increase of popu- 
lation in, 22. 

New Mexico, population of, 15. 

New York, population of, 15 ; increase of popu- 
lation in, 22. 

Non-producers, 27. 

North Carolina, population of, 15. 

O. 

Oats, area of production, 46, 47 ; crop summary, 
1 880-1 882, 166. 

Occupations, judicious choice of, 331, 347-349; 
uncertainty of, 334, 335 ; general distribution 
of, 336, 337 ; distribution of trades in the 
U. S., Table XXIX., 336 ; we follow, 26- 
28. 

Ohio, population of, 15 ; increase of population 
in, 24. 

Oil, petroleum or rock oil, 212 ; where found, 
212; quantity and value of production, 215- 
218 ; petroleum and its products, Table XVI., 
217; present condition of the industry, 218 ; 
linseed, 598. 

Olive, the, 93 ; cultivation of in California, 93, 
94. 

Opportunities, where they lie, 4, 5, 6; by gar- 
dening, 67, 68 ; presented by cultivating flow- 
ers, 71, 72; presented in the dairy, 142, 143 ; 
presented in stock-raising and breeding, 151, 
152; in fish culture, 236 ; in mining, 198; 
presented by a school of forestry, 276, 277 ; 
by the study of medicine, 288-290 ; be on the 
alert for, 348, 349 ; be ready for, 366 ; for ar- 
chitects, 368, 371, 372 ; presented by lectur- 
ing, 452, 453 ; presented by ceramic art, 399, 
400 ; by wood-engraving, 409, 410 ; by book- 
canvassing, 454-456 ; by experiments in arti- 
ficial stone, 478, 479; by type-setting, 512, 
513; by civil service, 514, 515; by profes- I 



sional nursing, 521-524, 527 ; house decora- 
tors, 391, 392 ; painting on glass, 420. 

Orange, the, growth of, 86 ; importation of, 86 ; 
Nordhoff on the culture of, 89-92. 

Orchards, products of, 73-75 ; value of, 75 ; 
failure of apple, 77, 78 ; decay of, 76-78 ; 
value of orchard products, 1850-1880, Table 
VII, 74- 

Oregon, population of, 15. 

Oyster, the, 231, 232 ; where found, 232 ; cult- 
ure of, 232 ; artificial propagation of, 232, 233. 

P. 

Paper and paper-making materials, 466, 467. 

Papier-mache, 467, 468. 

Paraguay tea-plant, mate, 468. 

Patents, 425-446 ; in England and America, 
425, 426 ; objections urged against, 426 ; ex- 
tent of the system, 427 ; American, 428 ; ob- 
taining a, 428; novelty of an invention, 428; 
completeness of the invention, 429 ; what may 
be patented, 429 ; nature of the right to a, 
430; caveat, 431 ; forfeiture of the right to 
a, 430, 431 ; abandonment of a patent, 431 ; 
infringement of a, 432 ; American patentees, 
etc, 432, 433 ; articles for which patent have 
been taken out, 433-436 ; number of inven- 
tors, 436 ; profits of, 437, 438 ; how the value 
of a patent may be affected, 438, 441, 442 ; 
requisites for an inventor, 443, \\\ ; specifica- 
tions in the claim for a, 445. 

Pea, the, 64. 

Peach, the, 81, 82. 

Pea-nut, the, 64 ; value of oil, 64. 

Pear, the, 81 ; varieties of, 81. 

Pennsylvania, population of, 15 ; increase of 
population of, 23. 

Periodicals in the United States, 291, 292. 

Petroleum, rock oil, 212 ; where found, 212 ; ■ 
quantity and values of production, 215-217; 
expense of working, 216; Table XVI, 217; 
present condition of the industry, 218. 

Phylloxera, a disease of the grape, 99. 

Platform, the, 452, 453. 

Plum, the, 82 ; French, 82 ; canning in Cali- 
fornia, 93. 

Population, area and, of the U. S, 14, 15 ; dis- 
tribution of, 24, 25 ; ratio of increase, 14, 15 ; 
percentage of foreign birth in the different 
states, 21 ; tendency of the, to increase in 
large cities, 22, 23 ; dwellings in proportion 
to, 24, 25 ; area and population, Table I, 15. 

Potato, the, 48, 49 ; sweet, 49, 50 ; crop, sum- 
mary to 1880, 167, 168; planting in the South 
of, 168, 171. 

Poultry, 124; value of, 124; care of, and food 
for, 125-127; advantages of raising, 129. 

Power, physical, required by men in different 
occupations, 589 ; steam, 300, 301 ; water, 
301 ; districts available for water, 303 ; steam 
and water power in manufacturing, Table 
XXIV, 302. 

Precious metals, production in the U. S. of, 
192 ; product and value, Table XIII, 193. 

Prices and prosperity, 174. 

Producers and non-producers, 27. 

Professional and personal services, 28. 

Professions, 278 ; numbers engaged in, 278 ; 
clerical, 279, 280 ; public-school teachers, 281, 
282 ; medical, 288-290 ; legal, 290, 291 ; lit- 



INDEX. 



605 



erary, 291-294, 297 ; engrossed by men, 298 ; 
the stage, dramatic and lyric, 447, 448, 451. 

Q. 

Quarries, 477 ; future value of, 477, 478. 
R. 

Railroads, 351, 352 ; cost of building, 352, 355 ; 
employes on, 356 ; passengers and accidents 
on, 356. 

Rainfall, consideration of, 566-568, 571 ; mean 

temperature and rainfall, Table XXX., 568. 
Raisins, 102 ; cultivation of vineyards for raisin 

grapes, 103, 104; curing of, 105; profits of a 

vineyard, 104, 105. 
Ramie or China grass, 60 ; introduction into the 

U. S., 60 ; its cultivation and value, 60, 63. 
Raspberry, the, 70. 
Rhode Island, population of, 15. 
Rice, 48. 

Root crops, 50, 64, 65. 
Rotation of crops, 147. 

Rye, 47 ; area of production, 47, 48 ; summary 
of crop, 1880, 1 88 1, 167. 

S. 

Salmon fishery, 228 ; value of, 228 ; canning of 
salmon, 228 ; where carried on, 228. 

Salt, production of, 220'; manufacture of, 220; 
capital invested in the, 221 ; number of hands 
employed, 221 ; wages paid for labor, 221. 

Sand-blast, 482 ; uses of the, 482-485. 

Sardine industry, 231 ; value of, 231 ; dis- 
honesty of manufacturers, 347. 

Schools, teachers in public, 281, 282, 284, 287; 
common-school statistics, Table XXIII., 283 ; 
for training nurses, 524, 527. 

Science, applied, 412, 413 ; chemistry, 413, 414 ; 
civil engineering, 414; electricity, 415. 

Seal fishery, 228 , value of, 228. 

Sheep, 117 , on farms and ranches in the U. S., 
117; slaughtered, 118, value per head, 118; 
raised in Great Britain, 118, 119; merino, 1 18 ; 
unoccupied land for raising, 120; number of 
sheep in U. S., Table IX., no, in. 

Silk, 465. 

Silver, 198; where found, 198, 199; census re- 
port, 199; report of the director of the mint, 
199. 

Silverware, 423. 

Slates and slating, 594; American, 594; Eng- 
lish, 594. 
South Carolina, population of, 15. 
Spelter, 203, 204. 

Stage, the, dramatic and lyric, 447, 448, 451. 
Steam navigation, 357; capital invested in, 357; 

employes, 357 ; division of groups in U. S., 

357,358- 

Steam-power, 300; advantage over water-power, 
303 ; used for compressing air, 472 ; steam 
and water power in manufactures, Table 
XXIV., 302. 

Stock-breeding, 151; profits of, 152. 

Stock-raisers, stock-herders, stock-drovers, 106. 

Stock-raising, knowledge required for success 
in, 148, 151. 

Stone, quarrying, 219; stone quarries, values 
and products of, Table XXVII., 219; quar- 
ry products by states, Table XXVIII., 220; 
concrete or artificial, 477, 478 ; Portland, 479. 



Strawberry, the, 70. 

Strength of material, crushing, 590 ; tensile, 
591 ; metals, 591 ; compositions, 591 ; woods, 
591 ; miscellaneous substances, 592. 

Success, 360 ; requisites for mercantile, 360, 
363 ; credit, 363, 364 ; enterprise, 364 ; gen- 
eral conclusions, 366, 367. 

Sugar, cane, 51, 52 ; maple, 52 ; sorghum, 53 ; 
beet, 54, 64 ; corn, 54. 

Sustenance, human and animal, 585 ; table of 
nutritive values of food, 585. 

Sweet potato, the, 49, 50. 

Swine, 120; usefulness of, 120 ; numbers of, in 
the U. S., 120 ; slaughter of, 123. 

T. 

Tables, No. I. to XXX., list of, 3, 4. 
Tannin, average quantity in different substances, 
598. 

Teachers, school, 281, 282, 284, 287 ; music, 451, 
452, 519; disproportion of salaries, 520. 

Telegraphs and telephones, 358, 359 ; capital 
invested in, 358; wages of operatives, 358, 
359- 

Telephones, 358,359, capital invested in, 358; 
wages of operatives, 358, 359. 

Temperature, causes dependent on, 564, 565 ; 
of the great central plateau, 565, 566. 

Tennessee, population of, 15 ; increase of popu- 
lation in, 23. 

Texas, population of, 15 ; increase of population 
in, 23 ; copper produced, 200. 

Timber, 248; cultivation act by Congress, 248, 
249 ; railroads using, 249 ; scarcity of, 477. 

Tin, 460; probable existence in the U. S., 
460. 

Tobacco, acreage and production, 63 ; uncer- 
tainties of the crop, 63, 64. 

Trade and transportation, 28 ; classification of 
trades, 350, 351. 

Trades-unions, 320. 

Transportation, 595 ; horses and cattle, 595. 
Type-setting, 324. 

U. 

Utah, population of, 15. 

V. 

Values of farms, 36, 37 ; comparison of relative 
values of food for stock, 596. 

Vegetables, 67 ; cultivation of, 67, 68 ; nutritious 
properties of, 596. 

Vermont, population of, 15. 

Virginia, population of, 15 ; increase of popula- 
tion in, 23. 

W. 

Wages, of farm laborers, 185, 186, 189 ; of miners, 
203,210,211,221; in cities, 312; workers and 
their, 310; disproportion of, 520 ; of telegraph 
operatives, 358, 359. 

Walnut, the, 95 ; English, 95. 

Washington Territory, population of, 15. 

Water-power, statistics, 301 ; districts available 
for, 303 ; steam and water power in manu- 
factures, Table XXIV., 302. 

Wealth, increase of national, 30, 31. 

Weights, of various substances, 592 ; of dressed 
beef, 595. 

West Virginia, population of, 15. 



606 



INDEX. 



Whale fishery, shrinkage of the, 227 ; present 

value of, 227, 228. 
Wheat, 39-46 ; crop summary, 1880, 1882, 165 ; 

average yield, 178; sowing wheat, 178, 179; 

results of experiments and summary, l8o- 

184 ; acreage and product of 1880, Table VI., 

40. 

Whortleberry, the, 70. 

Windmills, uses for, 475, 476. 

Wisconsin, population of, 15. 

Woman, and woman's work and wages, 486, 494, 
495 ; number of working women, 486, 489 ; 
outdoor labor for, 489 ; female farmers, 490 ; 
art- work for, 500, 501, 504 ; as domestics, 494; 
as silver -workers, 495, 496, 499, 500 ; as 
teachers, 501, 519 ; as decorators, 502 ; as en- 
gravers, 502, 503 ; coloring photographs, 504, 



505 ; painting on china, 505 ; embroidery, 
505 ; as artists, 506, 509; clerkships for, 510; 
telegraphy for, 510; type-writing, 511 ; type- 
setting, 512, 513; government employment 
for, 514-516, 519 ; disproportion of salaries 
for, 520; as nurses, 521-523 ; Bellevue train- 
ing - school for nurses, 524, 527 ; hints ■ to 
household nurses, 528-530. 
Wood, 600 ; weights and comparative values, 
600. 

Wool, 466 ; census reports, 117 ; growing, in- 
crease of, 120. 
Wyoming, population of, 15. 

Z. 

Zinc, 203 ; metallic zinc or spelter, 203, 204 ; 
sheet, 595. 



THE END. 



